Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa

539 Pages·1999·43.28 MB·English

by  Naomi Chazan

Politics and Society
in Contemporary
Africa
THIRD EDITION
Politics and Society
in Contemporary
Africa
Naomi Chazan
Peter Lewis
Robert Mortimer
Donald Rothchild
Stephen John Stedman
L~E
RIENNER
PUBLISHERS
BOULDER
Published in the United States of America in 1999 by
Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
1800 30th Street, Boulder, Colorado 80301
© 1999 by Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Politics and society in contemporary Africa I Naomi Chazan ... let
al.J. - 3rd ed.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-55587-668-5 (hc : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-55587-679-1 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Africa-Politics and govemment-1960- 2. Africa-Social
conditions-1960- 3. Africa-Economic conditions-1960- 4. Africa
Foreign relations-1960- I. Chazan, Naomi, 1946- .
JQ1875.P635 1999
320.96'09'045--dc21 99-24154
CIP
Published and distributed in Europe by
THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire R021 6XS, England, and London
Companies and representatives throughout the world
ISBN 978-0-333-69475-6 ISBN 978-1-349-14490-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-14490-7
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.
The paper used in this publication meets the requirements
8
of the American National Standard for Permanence of
Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984.
54321
Contents
List of Tables ix
Map ofA frica xi
Introduction 1
1 The Diversity of African Politics: Trends and Approaches 5
Independent Africa: Trends and Patterns, 6
Approaches to the Study of African Politics, 14
The Political Interaction Framework, 23
PART I THE STRUCTURES OF POLITICS
2 State Institutions and the Organization of the Public Arena 37
The Concept of the State in Africa, 38
The Structural Foundations of African States:
The Colonial Legacy, 42
Constructions of the Public Arena Since Independence, 46
States and State Variety in Africa:
Some Implications, 68
3 Social Groupings 75
Social Groups and Social Process, 76
The Organization of Social Life, 79
Social Networks and Social Trends, 100
4 Ethnicity, Class, and the State 107
Ethnicity and Ethnic Group, 108
The Ethnic Intermediary's Critical Role, 112
v
vi Contents
African Class Cleavages and Social Conflicts, 119
Class and Ethnicity as Situational Variables, 127
PART 2 POLITICAL PROCESS AND
POLITICAL CHANGE
5 Regimes in Independent Africa 137
Regime Evolution in Postcolonial Africa, 139
Regime Types and Their Variations, 141
Regime Types and Political Process, 155
6 High Politics: The Procedures and Practices of Government 159
The Politics of the Center: Decisionmaking and the
Rules of the Political Game, 160
The Politics of Social Relations, 176
Consolidation and Maintenance of the Political Center:
Some Trends, 190
7 Deep Politics: Political Response, Protest, and Conflict 197
Elite Conflicts, 198
Factional Conflicts, 201
Communal Conflicts, 206
Mass Conflicts, 211
Popular Conflicts, 213
The Interplay of Political Conflicts, 216
8 Political Transitions and Patterns of Change 221
Modes of Political Change, 222
Patterns of Political Interaction, 230
PART 3 POLITICAL ECONOMY
9 Coping with Transformation: Approaches to Development 239
The Range of Choice, 240
Africa in the World Economy, 244
Regimes, Ideology, and Development Strategies, 263
Sectoral Policies, 275
10 Coping with Change: Crisis and Attempted Reform 305
Managing Dependence: National Strategies, 306
Strategies Toward Foreign Capital, 307
Collective Strategies: Regional Integration, 310
Africa and North-South Relations, 319
Africa's Economic Crisis, 325
Structural Adjustment and the International Financial Institutions, 333
Economic Reform and Democratization, 349
Contents vii
PART 4 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
11 Inter-African Relations 361
Trans-Saharan Africa, 364
Central Africa, 387
Southern Africa, 394
Inter-African Politics in the Waning Cold War Era, 405
Inter-African Politics in the Post-Cold War Environment, 408
Conclusion, 414
12 Africa in World Politics 421
Africa and Europe, 422
Soviet-U.S. Competition in Africa, 431
Detente in Africa, 449
Africa in the New Multipolar System, 451
Conclusion: Africa Among the Lesser Powers, 455
PART 5 POLITICAL FUTURES
13 South Africa: The Possibilities and Limits of
Transforming State and Society 465
The Historical Formation of a Dual Society, 466
Apartheid's Contradictions and Black Resistance, 473
Negotiations for a New Constitution, 477
The Challenge of Transformation, 484
14 Africa in the Twenty-First Century 491
Appendix 1: Acronyms 499
Appendix 2: Changes in Country Names 503
Appendix 3: Basic Political Data 505
Index 527
About the Book 545
Tables
1.1 Basic Economic Characteristics of African States 8
1.2 Basic Social Characteristics of African States 10
2.1 Relative Burden of Military Expenditures in
Sub-Saharan Africa 59
5.1 Typology of Regimes 141
ix
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
AFRICA
IN 0 I AN
OCEAN
xi
Introduction
The excitement of the struggle for independence that permeated the
African continent in the second half of the twentieth century gained new
momentum in the 1990s as most African countries undertook political re
form measures and instituted multiparty governments. Nevertheless, at the
close of the century, ongoing traumas regarding economic survival, effec
tive political rule, and civil war continued to take a heavy toll. And a se
ries of devasting political and human disasters rocked the continent-in
Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and elsewhere.
Africans, their governments, and the international community still
grapple today with economic adversity, political uncertainty, and social in
equities. How have these constraints on growth and opportunity influenced
the African political experience? What political and economic choices
have been made and what are their implications? What options exist in
these circumstances? What steps can Africans in Algeria, Angola, Nigeria,
or Congo take to restore shaken societies to confidence as they move into
the twenty-first century? The answers lie not in a single isolated variable
but in the complex interconnections between politics and society, between
domestic and external forces, and among historical legacies, available re
sources, and future prospects.
The purpose of this introduction to African politics and society is to
depict in broad strokes the complexities and diversities of the African
world since independence and to investigate new paths to understanding
its intricate dynamics. Besides offering an initial acquaintance with con
temporary Africa, we seek to provide a basic knowledge of political events
and a closer comprehension of major problems, processes, and trends. By
suggesting different ways of looking at issues, we raise a range of expla
nations for past occurrences and possible directions for theory. This book,
1