The post-colonial state in Africa : fifty years of independence, 1960-2010

Resource Information

The work The post-colonial state in Africa : fifty years of independence, 1960-2010 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of Missouri Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

The post-colonial state in Africa : fifty years of independence, 1960-2010

Title remainder

fifty years of independence, 1960-2010

Statement of responsibility

Crawford Young

Creator

• Young, Crawford, 1931-

Subject

• Africa -- History -- 1960-
• Africa -- Politics and government -- 1960-
• Postcolonialism -- Africa

Language

eng

Summary

• "In The Postcolonial State in Africa, Crawford Young offers an informed and authoritative comparative overview of fifty years of African independence, drawing on his decades of research and first-hand experience on the African continent. Young identifies three cycles of hope and disappointment common to many of the African states (including those in North Africa) over the last half-century: initial euphoria at independence in the 1960s followed by disillusionment with a lapse into single-party autocracies and military rule; a period of renewed confidence, radicalization, and ambitious state expansion in the 1970s preceding state crisis and even failure in the disastrous 1980s; and a phase of reborn optimism during the continental wave of democratization beginning around 1990. He explores in depth the many African civil wars--especially those since 1990--and three key tracks of identity: Africanism, territorial nationalism, and ethnicity. Only more recently, Young argues, have the paths of the fifty-three African states begun to diverge more dramatically, with some leading to liberalization and others to political, social, and economic collapse--outcomes impossible to predict at the outset of independence."--Back cover
• "A highly readable, sweeping, and yet detailed analysis of the African state in all its failures and moments of hope. Crawford Young manages to touch upon all the important issues in the discipline and crucial developments in the recent history of the African continent. This book will be a classic."---Pierre Englebert, author of Africa Unity, Sovereignty, and Sorrow --
• In The Postcolonial State in Africa, Crawford Young offers an informed and authoritative comparative overview of fifty years of African independence, drawing on his decades of research and first-hand experience on the African continent. --
• Young identifies three cycles of hope and disappointment common to many of the African states (including those in North Africa) over the last half-century: initial euphoria at independence in the 1960s followed by disillusionment with a lapse into single-party autocracies and military rule; a period of renewed confidence, radicalization, and ambitious state expansion in the 1970s preceding state crisis and even failure in the disastrous 1980s; and a phase of reborn optimism during the continental wave of democratization beginning around 1990. He explores in depth the many African civil wars-especially those since 1990-and three key tracks of identity: Africanism, territorial nationalism, and ethnicity. --
• Only more recently, Young argues, have the paths of the fifty-three African states begun to diverge more dramatically, with some leading to liberalization and others to political, social, and economic collapse-outcomes impossible to predict at the outset of independence. --
• "An interesting, thoughtful, and comprehensive work rich in case material and analysis; the incorporation of the analysis of the North African states is particularly noteworthy. The scope of Young's knowledge and mastery of the scholarly literature is truly impressive."---Catherine Boone, author of Political Topographies of the African State: Territorial Authority and Institutional Choice --Book Jacket

Member of

• Africa and the diaspora

Cataloging source

WU/DLC

Dewey number

960.3/2

Government publication

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

Illustrations

maps

Index

index present

LC call number

DT30.5

LC item number

.Y686 2012

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Series statement

Africa and the diaspora: history, politics, culture