The last 30 years of African political history has followed a cycle from the euphoria of independence to the depression of economic recession and autocracy to the new era of euphoria as the democracy movement sweeps the continent. This reference handbook offers an analytical survey of research on African political history for this period, 1960-1990. Fifteen leading scholars address overall patterns, changing perspectives, and areas requiring additional research from nine different national and regional viewpoints. This expert assessment of the significant literature on African political affairs should be of great value to political scientists, historians, and specialists in African affairs.
The handbook is divided into three parts. The first presents continent-wide responses to political and social change highlighting the work of the first generation of African political scientists. Analyses of studies of development administration and international relations are included in this section. The second part contains five regional surveys covering political history, colonialism, nationalism, the post-colonial state, war, and foreign relations. The regions are Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, Equatorial Africa, Portuguese-speaking Africa, and the Horn. Four country studies make up the third part: Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. An appendix listing social science research centers in the sub-Saharan area and a general bibliography on African politics complete this fully indexed volume.