Beyond State Failure and Collapse

There is a general consensus in the scholarly literature that the post-colonial state in Africa has failed. Some states (Liberia Rwanda Sierra Leone Somalia) have collapsed. Various arguments have been proffered to explain this dynamics of African state failure and collapse. However the literature on state reconstitution is inchoate and minimal. This edited volume focuses on prescriptions for reconstituting the post-colonial state in Africa. Essays on nine African states (Burundi the Democratic Republic of the Congo Ethiopia Kenya Nigeria Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa and Uganda) are preceded by an introduction to the political economy of the African state.