The illusion of the post-colonial state : governance and security challenges in Africa

Author(s)
    • Fawole, W. Alade
Bibliographic Information

The illusion of the post-colonial state : governance and security challenges in Africa

W. Alade Fawole

(African governance and development / series editor, Olayiwola Abegunrin)

Lexington Books, c2018

  • : pbk

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 219-225) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book challenges the long-held conventional wisdom that Africa is a post-colonial society of sovereign nation-states despite the outward attributes of statehood: demarcated territories, permanent populations, governments, national currencies, police, and armed forces. While it is true that African nation-states have been gifted flag independence by their respective colonial masters, few have reached fully developed status as a secure nation-state. Most African nation-states have, since independence, been grappling with the crisis of state-building, nation-building, governance, and myriad security challenges which have been chronically exacerbated by the dynamics of the post-Cold War era. To focus merely on the agency of the African political elite and their inability to sustain functional modern nation-states misses the point. The central argument of the book is that an understanding of Africa's contemporary governance and security challenges requires us to historicize the discourse surrounding nation-building and state-building throughout Africa.

Table of Contents

Preface: Is Africa Post-Colonial, Neo-colonial, or Post-Colonized? Part I: Colonial Rule, Disengagement and the Post-Colonial State Introduction and Conceptual Discourse Chapter 1: Colonial Rule and the Political Architecture of the Post-Colonial State Chapter 2: The Grant of Independence: Imperialist Conspiracy and the Subversion of the Post-Colonial State Chapter 3: Britain and the Orchestration of Pseudo-Decolonization Chapter 4: The Role of France in the Subversion of the Post-Colonial State Chapter 5: Portugal: Forced Decolonization and its Consequences Chapter 6: The United States and the Political and Economic Destabilization of Africa Part II: Regional Examples of Illusive Post-Colonial States Chapter 7: Nigeria: The Illusive Post-Colony Chapter 8: Mali: From Instability to Insurgency and Near Obliteration Chapter 9: Somalia: From State Collapse to Rogue State Chapter 10: Algeria: Descent into Dictatorship Chapter 11: Democratic Republic of Congo: The Colony that Never Became a State Chapter 12: Mozambique: From Revolutionary Possibilities to Contrived Instability and State Failure Chapter 13: Contemporary Nation-Building, Governance, and Security Challenges in Africa Conclusion: The Illusive Post-Colonial State: What Hope for Survival?

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