Africa - Politics and government

Indeks : p. 359 - 387 ; A critical element of this book?s design is that each chapter stands alone, allowing you to assign or read the chapters in any order you wish. An emphasis has also been placed on making sense of general developments on the African continent as whole while introducing the distinctive natures of Africa?s fifty-three countries. Each chapter emphasizes the major trends associated with a topic, trends that are further explored through illustrative case studies that represent all regions of the African continent. Each chapter concludes with a list of readings for further exploration and research. Numerous maps, tables, figures, and boxed elements highlight fundamental issues of interest. This book is divided into six major part. Part I is composed of an introductory chapter that sets out key themes of the book. This chapter also highlights several research tools devoted to Africa, including Internaet sites, African studies journals from several academic disciplines, and a country-by-country list of introductory volumes, bibliographies, and historical dictionaries. Part II is devoted to the historical context of African politics and society. Part III focuses on the sociocultural contexts of African politics and society. Part IV examines continuity and change in the politics of African governance. Part V is devoted to the foreign relations of the African continent. The last section, which is primarily targeted toward more advanced African studies classes, explores the evolution of two rival bodies of theoretical literature that have competed in their quest to explain African politics and society.