The central message of this book is that leadership serves as a blueprint to transform Africa into a global powerhouse. There is an urgent need to refocus our efforts on the African Continent and her people, while at the same time forging ahead with democratic, accountable, people-centred, ethical and transparent governance and leadership. Corruption has undoubtedly become a hostile enemy in robbing the poor, violating the trust of the people and eroding the moral fibre of society. Abuse of power, position or office compounded by greed, self-enrichment and acts of dishonesty has dire consequences for mankind, and, as such, each contribution in this book promotes Africa’s vision to sustain humanity and its people, away from social ills such as extreme poverty, distinct inequalities and large-scale unemployment. What is needed is a new generation of bold, passionate, confident, inspiring leaders to make a difference and leave an edible mark in the global arena. This is the fundamental spirit of leadership for the Africa that this book wants and wishes to nurture. We cannot go back and change the past, but we can learn lessons, both good and bad, and change the future towards a bigger, better, and brighter tomorrow!

Why is it that by his death, having solved the countrys hunger problems and set an example for Africa on how to deal with foreign donors and international aid organisations such as the IMF and the World Bank, Mutharika was regarded as a pariah both in Malawi and internationally? Mutharika had overseen the expansion of the transport infrastructure, presided as Chairman of the African Union and helped Malawi achieve rapid GDP growth. How is it that he also left Malawi with serious economic problems particularly relating to nonexistent foreign exchange reserves and the inability of the country to import fuel? Why is it that that when he died, he had become the most hated man in Malawi, at least aside from his staunch party followers? This book analyses the presidency of Bingu wa Mutharika from the inside, his love-hate relationship with foreign donors and international aid agencies and his political successes and failures to show how power and political success in Africa is a trap that ensnares African leaders to easily forget their mission to serve the people. The role of patronage and culture, and the tendency of advisors in contributing to their leaders feelings of infallibility is also highlighted. The book uncovers lessons on the inner dynamics of power and politics in Africa that will be enlightening to all interested in African politics specifically, and third world political development in general.

An innovative analysis of political leadership in Africa between 1960 and 2018, drawing on an entirely new dataset.

Theories of international relations, assumed to be universally applicable, have failed to explain the creation of states in Africa. There, the interaction of power and space is dramatically different from what occurred in Europe. In his groundbreaking book, Jeffrey Herbst places the African state-building process in a truly comparative perspective, examining the problem of state consolidation from the precolonial period, through the short but intense interlude of European colonialism, to the modern era of independent states. Herbst's bold contention--that the conditions now facing African state-builders existed long before European penetration of the continent--is sure to provoke controversy, for it runs counter to the prevailing assumption that colonialism changed everything. In identifying how the African state-building process differs from the European experience, Herbst addresses the fundamental problem confronting African leaders: how to extend authority over sparsely settled lands. Indeed, efforts to exert control over vast, inhospitable territories of low population density and varied environmental and geographical zones have resulted in devastating wars, millions of refugees, and dysfunctional governments perpetrating destructive policies. Detailing the precise political calculations of distinct African leaders, Herbst isolates the basic dynamics of African state development. In analyzing how these leaders have attempted to consolidate power, he is able to evaluate a variety of policy alternatives for dealing with the fundamental political challenges facing African states today.

The works of contemporary global security and political analysts, and experiences from today's highly industrialized nations, conclude that the existence of peace and security, effective and exemplary political leadership, and sustained entrepreneurship are critical ingredients and catalysts for national socio-economic development. Certainly, these ingredients have helped in building the nations of the 'developed world, ' but how can these ingredients help the nations of the 'emerging world'? This book searches for a response and lessons to be learnt. Hence, the purpose of the book, essentially, is to examine the roles that peace and security, political leadership, and entrepreneurship can play in the sustainable socio-economic development of emerging countries, exemplified by sub-Saharan Africa. The book first reviews the nature of the 'emerging world', discusses the subject matter in detail, and concludes with a compendium of lessons to be learnt by, primarily, political leaders, national security practitioners, entrepreneurs and investors, and academicians

Academic Paper from the year 2021 in the subject Politics - Political Theory and the History of Ideas Journal, grade: N/A, language: English, abstract: The paper argues that, there is a disconnection between the rulers and the ruled, and that the African nations can truly develop only when the leadership question is rightly settled. Drawing lessons from the Madiba Mandela conundrum, we argue the thesis that, our long walk to democratic consolidation will ever remain a distant dream. Without comprehension, mental magnitude, spiritual depth, selflessness and incorruptibility which are the core indigenous African leadership qualities that defined the Mandela persona, this dream cannot be achieved. A conclusion is here argued that, there is need for a revolution in the aims and methods of power engineering, so that the basic aim becomes the promotion of socially, economically and politically important desires of man; the promotion of wisdom in leadership by rational means, not by knowledge means. Such is argued as the new Africa of the Twenty-First Century. This is a call on African leaders to domesticate the capacity and ability to appreciate and grasp the salient details as well as the practical and temporal implications of a given problem or situation; to lead and live by the personal example set by the Madiba Nelson Mandela, one leader crafted of gold and delivered to Africa for leadership lessons.