Africa Works : Disorder as Political Instrument

AFRICA WORKS - looks at what is happening in Africa and offers an original interpretation of the continent's precarious condition. The authors draw on a wide range of disciplines and comparative material to review the major political, and cultural trends of present day Africa from an unorthodox, if realistic perspective. They explore three fundamental issues : -Are African political systems actually institutionalizing, or have the prevailing personal and vertical links between patrons and clients continued, purposely and profitably, to hold sway. -The 're-traditionalization' of society is the resurgence of ethnicity, witchcraft and other 'cultural' traits in Africa an indication of the continent's move backward or evidence of its multi-faceted path to modernization? -The productivity of economic 'failure' is Africa's inability to develop the result of dubious policy choices, of external constraints, or the logical outcome of a singular dynamic by which patrimonial networks are enriched at the expense of the continent's economic growth? The authors develop a new paradigm - the political instrumentalization of disorder - which makes sense of the processes outlined above and provides a realistic analysis of Africa's contemporary politics. Patrick Chabal is Professor of Lusophone African Studies, University of London. Jean-Pascal Daloz is Senor CNRS Researcher, Centre d'étude d'Afrique noire, Bordeaux.