Political Liberalization and Democratization in Africa: Lessons from Country Experiences

Since the late 1980s, Africans have been engaged in efforts to transform their societies and provide themselves with more effective governance and economic structures. Unfortunately, most of these efforts have not progressed beyond simple elections. The contributors to this volume provide strategies that Africans can use to deepen democracy, improve resource allocation, and enhance their ability to coexist peacefully.

Mbaku, Ihonvbere, and their contributors, while adopting a critical approach to the study of African political economy, take a stand against Afro-pessimism. They articulate an holistic agenda for addressing Africa's mulitfarious problems, reject received knowledge, and, through a dialectical methodology, draw attention to the centrality of social categories/classes, the state, civil society, the environment, communities, and patterns of change in the continent.

Relying on fieldwork, hard data, and critical reviews of the extant literature, the volume highlights the importance of democracy and democratization to the urgent restructuring that Africa needs in the new globalization. Paying attention to the continent's historical experiences and its specificities, the contributors draw attention to the importance of grassroots action, leadership, and the need to constitutionally entrench civil liberties.

JULIUS OMOZUANVBO IHONVBERE is Professor of Government at the University of Texas, Austin. He has published widely on state-civil society issues and he is the first recipient of the Mario Zamora Memorial Award from the Association of Third World Studies Inc. Currently he is Program Officer for Pluralism and Governance in the Governance and Civil Society Unit of the Ford Foundation.

JOHN MUKUM MBAKU is Professor of Economics at Weber State University. He has published extensively in the field of African Studies. He is the Associate Editor (Africa) of the Journal of Third World Studies and President, African Educational Foundation Inc.