Abstract
In the first part of this book we examine the types of organizations devised by Africans at various levels to mobilize themselves, their allies, and their resources to deal with their constantly changing surroundings, and we introduce the basic concepts of contemporary African politics: state, social groups, ethnicity, and class. Who are the main political actors in Africa today? What interests do they have and what resources do they control? How are they structured? In what ways are they connected? And what are their capabilities and their weaknesses? In Chapter 2 we focus on the consolidation and alteration of formal government institutions, and in Chapter 3 we deal with the structures of social and economic life. Because state and society are analytical categories that intersect and frequently overlap, Chapter 4 is devoted specifically to the investigation of the many forms of state-society relations that have evolved in Africa in the postcolonial period. These relationships provide the basis for understanding how decisions are made, why certain policies are adopted, how they affect various groups, and with what results.
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Notes
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© 1999 Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.
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Chazan, N., Lewis, P., Mortimer, R., Rothchild, D., Stedman, S.J. (1999). State Institutions and the Organization of the Public Arena. In: Politics and Society in Contemporary Africa. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14490-7_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14490-7_3
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