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The African Affairs Reader

Key Texts in Politics, Development, and International Relations

Carl Death editor Nic Cheeseman editor Lindsay Whitfield editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:25th May '17

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The African Affairs Reader cover

African Affairs is the top journal in African Studies and has been for some time. This book draws together some of the most influential, important, and thought provoking articles published in its pages over the last decade. In doing so, it collates essential cutting-edge research on Africa and makes it easily available for students, teachers, and researchers alike. The African Affairs Reader is broken down into four sections that cover some of the biggest themes and questions facing the continent today, including: the African State, the Political Economy of Development, Africa's Relationship with the World, and Elections, Representation & Democracy. Within each section, articles deal with some of the most significant recent trends and events, such as the prospects for democratization in Ghana and Nigeria, the factors underpinning Rwanda's economic success, the rise of political corruption in South Africa, the spread of the drugs trade, the struggle against gender based violence, and the growing influence of China. Each section is introduced by a new purpose-written essay by the journal's editors that explains the evolution of the wider debate, highlights key contributions, and suggests new ways in which the discussion can be taken forward. Taken together, the essays and articles included in the volume provide both a coherent introduction to the study of Africa and a compelling commentary on the current state of play on the continent.

This reader sets a high standard on all counts, all the more remarkable for one that includes articles published only in a single journal, African Affairs. The journal's two current and one former editor (Cheeseman) teamed up to select this reader's contents. Perhaps more importantly, they wrote more than 80 pages of valuable introductions to the volume and its four main sections: 'The African State'; 'The Political Economy of Development'; 'Elections, Democracy, and Representation'; and 'Africa and the World.' The editors' judicious selections highlight the changing concerns, conceptions, and perspectives that continue to animate Africanist scholarship. Readers of many stripes, whether upper-level students, scholars, or non-Africanists seeking a compact overview of recent works on contemporary African affairs, will be well rewarded for perusing this book. The editors' introductions alone are worth their attention. * J. P. Smaldone, Georgetown University *

ISBN: 9780198794295

Dimensions: 234mm x 174mm x 21mm

Weight: 602g

388 pages