Closing the Circle: Democratization and Development in Africa

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Between The Lines, 2000 - Business & Economics - 180 pages
Closing the Circle is a provocative, sober analysis of the struggles to construct democracy in Africa. Well-known African Studies scholar Richard Sandbrook argues that Africa's problems will not be solved until order is created. And in the creation of order, politics is primary. In this his eighth book on Africa, Sandbrook explores the realities and possibilities of democracy in Africa. He argues for the necessity of a "virtuous" and self-reinforcing circle of civil and political rights, growing prosperity, and state renovation. In the end, says Sandbrook, Africa's tragedy is that external as well as internal constraints operate--and that both require attention. He makes a radical call for a supportive social-democratic reform of globalization.

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Contents

1 Patterns and Perspectives
1
2 The Real World of African Democracy
23
3 Democratization and Deadly Conflict
49
4 Democratization and Market Reforms
75
5 Democratization and State Rehabilitation
97
6 Closing the Circle
131
Notes
149
References
155
Index
171
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About the author (2000)

Richard Sandbrook is a professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto, and has authored and co-edited seven other books on politics and economics in Africa. For the past dozen years his research has focused on the relationship between democratization and development in the sub-Saharan region.