This book presents a series of essays by leading English and French scholas examining the politics, economics, international relations and defects of the literary scene of France and the former territories of francophone West Africa since 1965. The approach is emphatically a thematic one rather than a country-by-country analysis.

Explores the elements that have shaped the particular political dynamics of the 14 former French colonies in west and equatorial Africa while allowing them to remain part of a unique francophone sociopolitical community.

Following a few fleeting years of democratic rule after independence, dictatorship came to be viewed as much a part of the African social landscape as its grinding poverty. The end of the Cold War and the sharpening of the economic crisis at the end of the 1980s, however, have breathed new life into campaigns for democracy in Africa. This volume explores the origins and evolution of political reform movements in several states of Francophone Africa. The authors first make the case for the distinctiveness of Francophone Africa, based on the influences of colonial history, language, and France's contemporary role in Africa, then survey the challenges of reform, including the problems of transition from authoritarianism and consolidation of democratic regimes.

Contains ten essays addressing aspects of African political and governmental affairs, from African politics since independence and the impact of colonialism to revolutionary movements and development in the post-colonial state. First published in 1984, this edition contains updated material on the decline and weakness of the state and on women's positions in Africa. Paper edition (unseen), $18.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

An essay on the transformation of Africa from a continent of dependent colonies to one of independent states.

Paying for the state.