Africa Betrayed - Softcover

Ayittey, George B. N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0312104006 ISBN 13: 9780312104009

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 1993

Synopsis

'...Ayittey's bitter reading is an appropriate first therapy to the malaise American policies have helped to breed. ' Wall Street Journal 'Ayittey is unpredictable - and provocative. I was prepared to hate Africa Betrayed, but found myself engrossed.' Village Voice Africans are angry. Thirty years of independence have brought nothing but economic misery, famine, senseless civil wars, wanton destruction, flagrant violations of human rights, and brutal repression. At independence from colonial rule, Africans had hoped for liberty, prosperity, and a new beginning. They have been cruelly disappointed. Ayittey writes devastatingly on the horrors of black neocolonialism, arguing that it is just not good enough for commentators always to blame external factors for Africa's misery. Ayittey sees a second liberation struggle building up throughout the continent - one that will sweep away the kleptocracy and rediscover the African traditions that have endured throughout the horrors of both white colonialism and black neocolonialism.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

'Africa Betrayed' is a powerful attack on the dictators who have ruined an entire continent. Almost all the nationalists who took power after independence and the military despots who in turn overthrew them have proven even worse than the colonialists they replaced. Dr. Ayittey writes devastatingly on the black neo-colonialism, arguing that commentators are naive to blame Africa's misery on external factors.

Review:

"As a black African, Ayittey brings a personal, passionate commitment to his analysis. He develops a comprehensive prescription for addressing the continent's lack of representative, responsible government."--"Christian Science Monitor"
"Mr Ayittey's bitter reading is an appropriate first therapy to the malaise American politics have helped to breed."--"Wall Street Journal"
"This vigorous attack on corruption and mismanagement by post-colonial African leaders is bolstered by the author's experience as a dissident in his native Ghana. Ayittey, who teaches economics at the American University in Washington, D.C., blames African elites, foreign powers and even black Americans for aiding and abetting black dictators. Surveying indigenous political institutions--but neglecting the treatment of women--he argues that current leaders distort history when they claim their heritage supports not democracy but one-party and/or military rule. He ranges through the colonial and independence periods before cataloguing depredations in places like authoritarian Zimbabwe and Zaire, the "epitome of African kleptocracy." Ayittey proposes decentralized, democratic government based on indigenous principles to counter tribalism, a problem examined too briefly. Arguing that the West can best help Africa by promoting freedom of expression, Ayittey calls upon Africans to author their own intellectual, political and economic reforms."--Publishers Weekly

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0312104006
• ISBN 13: 9780312104009
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 432