African Politics Volume 2

African Politics: Critical and Primary Sources, Volume 2 is exclusively centered upon the section The Practice of Power within the Post-Colonial State. This volume is organized around four sub-sections. The first sub-section is focused on the nature and composition of the post-colonial state, reflecting that within the field of African politics, there has been a rich and ongoing debate regarding the state, including discussions about its imported nature, the degree to which it has been Africanized, its relevance, and the ways in which it is manifest in everyday political life. The second sub-section of this volume provides some of the key readings on the concept of neopatrimonialism, which are essential for an understanding of contemporary African politics. The third sub-section reflects debates around the nature, role and relevance of civil societyfrequently a core concept for comparative political inquiryin Africa, and the final sub-sections explore various formal institutions of governance in post-colonial Africa, particularly regime types (e.g., authoritarianism and democracy).