Africa and the International System: The Politics of State Survival

by Christopher Clapham

Overview

African independence launched into international politics a group of the world's poorest, weakest and most artificial states. How have such states managed to survive? To what extent is their survival now threatened? Christopher Clapham shows how an initially supportive international environment has become increasingly threatening to African rulers and the states over which they preside. The author reveals how international conventions designed to uphold state sovereignty have often been appropriated and subverted by rulers to enhance their domestic control, and how African states have been undermined by guerrilla insurgencies and the use of international relations to serve essentially private ends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521572071
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/12/1996
Series:	Cambridge Studies in International Relations , #50
Pages:	356
Product dimensions:	6.18(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.10(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; List of acronyms and abbreviations; Part I. African States and Global Politics: 1. Fragile states and the international system; 2. The creation of an African international order; 3. Domestic statehood and foreign policy; Part II. Patterns of Alliance: 4. The foreign policies of post-colonialism; 5. The politics of solidarity; 6. The resort to the superpowers; Part III. Struggling with Decay: 7. The international politics of economic failure; 8. The externalisation of political accountability; 9. The international politics of insurgency; 10. The privatisation of diplomacy; 11. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This important book proposes a major overhaul of the conventional framework for analyzing international relations in Africa." Gail M. Gerhart, Foreign Affairs

"...Clapham's volume is solid, sweeping, and thoughtful. Strongly recommended for larger university libraries and other collections specializing in African or Third World studies, comparative politics, and international affairs." J.P. Smaldone, Choice

From the Publisher