The State of the nations : constraints on development in independent Africa / edited by Michael F. Lofchie.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lofchie, Michael F., Editor.

Contributor:

Lofchie, Michael F., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Africa--Politics and government.

Africa.

Africa--Economic conditions--1960-.

Africa--Economic policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (317 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

University of California Press 2024

Summary:

The State of the Nations is a collection of essays evaluating the political, social, and economic development of independent African states in the 1960s. The effort to employ the notion of constraint as a conceptual tool in analyzing African politics reflects an attempt to move away from evaluative terms such as development and modernization or decay and breakdown. Development, which has an implicit suggestion of social progress and constitutional government, seems inappropriate for the study of the wide array of political phenomena found in African states. Terms such as breakdown and decay--with an equally broad suggestion of disruption, disunity, and instability--seem equally inappropriate. The vantage point of the authors in this volume is primarily political, but their understanding of African development encompasses the social and economic spheres as well. The constraints that impede achievement of African objectives are varied, and many, of course, are not political. Geographical factors, for example, are supremely relevant in accounting for the availability of natural resources. The principal justification for emphasizing political rather than other constraints is the extent to which political will and political action can stimulate development in spite of other obstacles. Contributors: Jonathan Barker Henry Bienen Barbara Callaway Emily Card Martin R. Doornbos Rupert Emerson R. Cranford Pratt Richard E. Stryker Immanuel Wallerstein Claude E. Welch M. Crawford Young This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand

technology. This title was originally published in 1971.

Contents:

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Contributors

Contents

Part I. General Perspectives on Constraint

Preface to Part I

Chapter 1. Political Constraints on African Development

Chapter 2. The Range of Choice: Constraints on the Policies of Governments of Contemporary African Independent States

Part II. The Parameters of Political Choice

Preface to Part II

Chapter 3. The Paradox of Development: Reflections on a Study of Local-Central Political Relations in Senegal

Chapter 4. Political Constraints on Economic Development in Ghana

Chapter 5. The Cabinet and Presidential Leadership in Tanzania: 1960-1966

Chapter 6. A Local Perspective on Developmental Strategy in the Ivory Coast

Chapter 7. Agricultural Policy in Uganda: Capability and Choice

Chapter 8. Ranching and Scheming: A Case Study of the Ankole Ranching Scheme

Part III. The Political Context of Future Development

Preface to Part III

Chapter 9. Political Parties and Political Machines in Africa

Chapter 10. Cincinnatus in Africa: The Possibility of Military Withdrawal from Politics

Chapter 11. The Prospects for Democracy in Africa

Conclusion

Observations on Social and Institutional Change in Independent Africa

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Lofchie, Michael F. The State of the Nations

ISBN:

9780520378629

OCLC:

1443086219