Democracy and political change in Sub-Saharan Africa /

A product of the 1992 meeting of the African Studies Association of the UK, this book consists of a deceptively simple set of ten relatively brief but excellent case studies and commentaries on different democratization processes and phases in Africa. Using a set of criteria for judging the consolidation of democracy--e.g., economic development, national identity problems, peaceful transfer of power, free and fair elections, and levels of militarization--the contributors offer refreshing and jargon-free analyses. The range of states included--Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Uganda, Malawi, and Zambia--is broadly representative of the diverse problems African states have experienced since they began pursuing democratization in the late 1980s. Africanists seeking comparative evidence regarding the efficacy of multiparty systems and elections will find these case studies particularly useful. For a somewhat different and more analytical approach to democratization, see Collapsed States: The Disintegration and Restoration of Legitimate Authority, ed. by I.W. Zartman (CH, Sep'95). The present book would be an excellent text for introductory courses; although it lacks a bibliography, footnotes and citations in several chapters offer useful reference sources. Graduate; faculty. M. E. Doro Connecticut College