Subsaharan Africa in the 1990s: Challenges to Democracy and Development

by Rukhsana A. Siddiqui

Overview

The economic performance of African countries south of the Sahara generally has been poor during the past two decades. External factors such as high oil prices, deteriorating terms of trade, and wars, and formidable internal factors such as corruption, chauvinism, authoritarianism, and violence have continued to plague the region. Whereas in the 1980s the Subsahara was overwhelmed by drought, devaluation, and debt, the 1990s have brought the paradox of civil strife and a complex transition to democracy. This volume surveys the major political, economic, social, ecological, and gender related aspects of Subsaharan Africa's struggle toward democracy. Its essays pose two fundamental sets of ideas: that the internal equilibrium can be restored only through institutional changes with these countries; and that the political and economic dilemmas in the region are closely related to issues of gender and the environment. The volume will be of interest to scholars and students of comparative politics, developmental economics, and African studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275951429
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	06/25/1997
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.56(d)

About the Author

RUKHSANA A. SIDDIQUI is Associate Professor at Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan. She holds a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, and has held teaching and research positions at Yale University, University of Dar-es-Salaam, and Bilkent University. Her books include Subsaharan Africa: A Subcontinent in Transition (1993) and Ideology and Socialist Transition in Tanzania (1988). She publishes in Annals of the American Academy of Political Science, Review of African Political Economy, and Canadian Jourbanal of Peace Research.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Civil Society and Democratic Transition
Civil Society and Democratic Consolidation: Building a Culture of Democracy in a New South Africa by Larry Diamond
The "New" Civil Society and Democratic Transitions in Africa by Edward R. MacMahon
Lessons to Be Learned from the Angolan Elections: 38 Reliable Guides or Misleading Judgments by William Minter
The Politics of Economic Reforms
Labor, Structural Adjustment, and Democracy in Sierra Leone and Ghana by Alfred B. Zack-Williams
Privatization in a Transitional Society: A Kenyan Case Study by Rukhsana A. Siddiqui
"The End of History or the Beginning of the End?": Prospects for Botswana in the Twenty-First Century by Larry A. Swatuck
The Problems of Development Management
Nongovernmental Organizations and Government-Organized Nongovernmental Organizations: Opportunities for Development Management in Africa in the Twenty-First Century by Peter Koehn and Olatunde Ojo
"Managing" Development in Subsaharan Africa in the 1990s: States, Markets, and Civil Societies in Alternative Paradigms by Sandra Maclean
Women and Empowerment in Africa in the 1990s
Toward Equality for All?: International Human Rights for African Women by Lynn Berat
Barriers and Opportunities: The Role of Organizations in Nigerian Women's Quest for Empowerment by Mary J. Osirim
Toward the Sustainable Development of African Ecology and Environment
Africa's Environmental Challenges: Deforestation and Development by Moses K. Tesi
The Issues of Development and Environment in Africa: An Overview by E. Ike Udogu
Bibliography
Index
About the Contributors

Editorial Reviews

Surveys the major political, economic, social, ecological, and gender- related aspects of Africa's struggle toward democracy in the 1990s. Twelve contributors focus on institutional changes needed to restore equilibrium within these countries, and issues related to the subjects of women and environment. Five thematic sections include civil society and democratic transition; the politics of economic reforms; the problems of development management; women and empowerment; and toward the sustainable development of African ecology and environment. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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