The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation (African Society Today) - Hardcover

Sandbrook, Richard; Barker, Judith

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521265878 ISBN 13: 9780521265874

Verlag: Cambridge University Press, 1985

Inhaltsangabe

180p hard cover, gilt lettering to spine and front cover, no dustjacket, small mark to the back, excellent condition

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Reseña del editor

African states are not, in any real sense, capitalist states. Elsewhere, the state has played a crucial role in facilitating capitalist expansion, but in postcolonial Africa one finds a form of neopatrimonialism - personal rule - that introduces a variety of economic irrationalities. Productive economic activities are impeded by the political instability, systemic corruption and maladminstration associated with personal rule. In extreme cases, a downward spiral of political-economic decline is set in motion that is difficult to halt and reverse. Is personal rule simply a euphemism for ineptitude and mismanagement? The authors argue that it is not; it operates according to a particular political rationality that shapes a ruler's actions when, in the absence of legitimate authority, he is confronted with the challenge of governing an unintegrated peasant society. Neopatrimonialism is essentially an adaptation of colonial-inspired political institutions to peculiar historical and social conditions. This book focuses on the political factor as an important cause of Africa's economic ills. It analyses the social conditions impelling political adaptation and the consequences of personal rule for economic life, and surveys creative responses to the predicament African people now face.

Über diese Auflage

• Verlag: Cambridge University Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 1985
• ISBN 10: 0521265878
• ISBN 13: 9780521265874
• Einband: Tapa dura
• Auflage: 1
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192