State development in Africa is risky, even life-threatening. Heads of state must weigh the advantage of promoting political and economic development against the risk of fortifying dangerous political rivals. This book takes a novel approach to the study of neopatrimonial rule by placing security concerns at the center of state-building. Using quantitative evidence from 44 African countries and in-depth case studies of Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire, Rabinowitz demonstrates that the insecurities of the African state make strategically aligning with rural leaders critical to political success. Leaders who cultivate the goodwill of the countryside are better able to endure sporadic urban unrest, subdue political challengers, minimize ethnic and regional discord, and prevent a military uprising. Such regimes are more likely to build infrastructure needed for economic and political development. In so doing, Rabinowitz upends the long-held assumption that African leaders must cater to urban constituents to secure their rule.

The world has so far shown little interest in what is going on in Ghana. This is partly due to the image put out by the Ghanaian Government's own Public Relations Department, which differs greatly from reality.

Tells the story of two popular revolutions in Ghana, both of them led by the same man, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings, now Head of Ghana's government, the Provisional National Defence Council. The book includes interviews with many of the key players in the drama, including Rawlings himself.

It Takes a Woman retraces the early life of Agyeman‐Rawlings who rose to prominence as the First Lady of the Republic of Ghana (1982-2000). Born in an era when women were overtly marginalised, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings was raised to never accept the notion that "there were some things she could not do, simply because she was a woman."