The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State

The Rise and Decline of the Zairian State PDF

Author: Crawford Young

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres

Published: 1985

Total Pages: 522

ISBN-13: 0299101134

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Zaire, apparently strong and stable under Presdident Mobutu in the early 1970s, was bankrupt and discredited by the end of that decade, beset by hyperinflation and mass corruption, the populace forced into abject poverty. Why and how, in a new african state strategically located in Central Africa and rich in mineral resources, did this happen? How did the Zairian state become a “parasitic predator” upon its own people?

The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism

The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism PDF

Author: Crawford Young

Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press

Published: 1993

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 9780299138844

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Two decades after the publication of his prize-winning book, The Politics of Cultural Pluralism, Crawford Young and a distinguished panel of contributors assess the changing impact of cultural pluralism on political processes around the world, specifically in the former Soviet Union, China, United States, India, Ethiopia, and Guatemala. The result is an arresting look at the dissolution of the nation-state system as we have known it. Crawford Young opens with an overview of the dramatic rise in the political significance of cultural pluralism and of scholars' changing understanding of what drives and shapes ethnic identification. Mark Beissinger brilliantly explains the demise of the last great empire-state, the USSR, while Edward Friedman notes growing challenges to the apparent cultural homogeneity of China. Nader Entessar suggests intriguing contrasts in Azeri identity politics in Iran and the ex-USSR. Ronald Schmidt and Noel Kent explore the language and racial dimensions of the rising multicultural currents in the United States. Douglas Spitz shows the extent of the decline of the old secular vision of India of the independence generation; Alan LeBaron traces the recent emergence of an assertive Mayan identity among a submerged populace in Guatemala, long thought to be destined for Ladinoization. A case study of the diversity and uncertain future of Ethiopia dramatically emerges from four contrasting contributions: Tekle Woldemikael looks at the potential cultural tensions in Eritrea, Solomon Gashaw offers a central Ethiopian nationalist perspective, Herbert Lewis reflects the perspectives of a restless and disaffected periphery, and James Quirin provides an arresting explanation of the construction of identity amongst the Beta Israel (Ethiopian Jews). Virginia Sapiro steps back from specific regions, offering an original analysis of the interaction between cultural pluralism and gender.

Democratization in Africa

Democratization in Africa PDF

Author: Larry Jay Diamond

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 570

ISBN-13: 9780801862731

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"The country-specific chapters serve to underline the differences between African democracy and liberal democracy, yet some authors are at pains to emphasize that whatever their limitations, African democracies are an advance over what had gone before." -- African Studies Review

The Postcolonial State in Africa

The Postcolonial State in Africa PDF

Author: Crawford Young

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Pres

Published: 2012-11-20

Total Pages: 489

ISBN-13: 029929143X

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"A highly readable, sweeping, and yet detailed analysis of the African state in all its failures and moments of hope. Crawford Young manages to touch upon all the important issues in the discipline and crucial developments in the recent history of the African continent. This book will be a classic."---Pierre Englebert, author of Africa Unity, Sovereignty, and Sorrow --

Crisis in the Congo

Crisis in the Congo PDF

Author: F. Ngolet

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2010-12-14

Total Pages: 552

ISBN-13: 0230116256

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This volume offers a comprehensive history and analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo during the tumultuous period of 1997 - 2001. The author examines the most recent events in this turbulent region, offering a contemporary account that is both extensive and detailed.

Good Fences, Bad Neighbors

Good Fences, Bad Neighbors PDF

Author: Boaz Atzili

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-02

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 0226031357

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Border fixity—the proscription of foreign conquest and the annexation of homeland territory—has, since World War II, become a powerful norm in world politics. This development has been said to increase stability and peace in international relations. Yet, in a world in which it is unacceptable to challenge international borders by force, sociopolitically weak states remain a significant source of widespread conflict, war, and instability. In this book, Boaz Atzili argues that the process of state building has long been influenced by external territorial pressures and competition, with the absence of border fixity contributing to the evolution of strong states—and its presence to the survival of weak ones. What results from this norm, he argues, are conditions that make internal conflict and the spillover of interstate war more likely. Using a comparison of historical and contemporary case studies, Atzili sheds light on the relationship between state weakness and conflict. His argument that under some circumstances an international norm that was established to preserve the peace may actually create conditions that are ripe for war is sure to generate debate and shed light on the dynamics of continuing conflict in the twenty-first century.

The African Stakes of the Congo War

The African Stakes of the Congo War PDF

Author: J. Clark

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2002-09-13

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1403982449

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The African Stakes in the Congo War analyzes the Congo conflict by looking at the roles played by various states and factors in the conflict. Part I introduces the conflict by showing the historical and regional context of the war. Part II examines those states and groups that worked to support the Kaliba regime; Part III examines the rebel groups working to overthrow Kabila and those intervening on their behalf. Part IV looks at the role of supposedly neutral states such as South Africa and looks at the social and economic effects of the war by examining trans-state factors such as rebel groups, arms trading, and economic consequences. The collection includes both African and US/UK scholars, and covers the recent transfer of power from Laurent to Joseph Kabila.

Zaire

Zaire PDF

Author: Winsome J Leslie

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-18

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1000011305

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This book describes the historical setting of Zaire and focuses on economic and political developments during the Mobutu era. It examines the corrupt and closed political system, with its roots in the colonial state and precolonial political patterns.

The Democratic Republic of Congo

The Democratic Republic of Congo PDF

Author: Michael Deibert

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2013-09-12

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 1780323476

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Over the past two decades, the Democratic Republic of Congo has been at the centre of the deadliest series of conflicts since the Second World War, and now hosts the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission in the world. In this compelling book, acclaimed journalist Michael Deibert paints a picture of a nation in flux, inching towards peace but at the same time solidifying into another era of authoritarian rule under its enigmatic president, Joseph Kabila. Featuring a wealth of first-hand interviews and secondary sources, the narrative travels from war-torn villages in the country's east to the chaotic, pulsing capital of Kinshasa in order to bring us the voices of the Congolese - from impoverished gold prospectors and market women to government officials - as it explores the complicated political, ethnic and economic geography of this tattered land. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Africa, The Democratic Republic of Congo: Between, Hope and Despair sheds new light on this sprawling and often misunderstood country that has become iconic both for its great potential and dashed hopes.