Political Leadership In An Era Of Decolonisation

"What is leadership and why is it so important? In what ways does it look very different in different contexts, and in what ways does it look the same? Malcolm Murfett brings together a range of emerging and established scholars to examine these questions in light of some of the mid-20th Century's most intriguing national leaders. In a series of striking biographical essays, lessons are drawn from the apartheid era in South Africa, Lee's remarkable socio-economic transformation of Singapore, Castro's revolutionary overhauling of Cuba and the playing out of Bandaranaike's populist agenda in Sri Lanka. The book illuminates what Brezhnev and Nixon were looking for in the Cold War and what happened when the people turned against Nyerere in Tanzania, the Shah in Iran and Ceauşescu in Romania. These case studies address what leadership meant for the individuals whose record in power is being examined. These are not idealised portraits of "how to do leadership" but warts-and-all portrayals of exceptional individuals who scrabbled their way to the top and stayed there for several years during a period of great change. Business Schools have long studied the theoretical axioms of corporate leadership. What this book does, however, is to move beyond the theory into the practical realm of politics and statecraft. This is a fascinating book on leadership that will be of interest for students, researchers and practitioners studying leadership in business and politics, as well as for students of global history, decolonisation and the Cold War"--

Profiles of Gambian Political Leaders in the Decolonisation Era provides an insightful and educational account into the achievements, flaws and lives of four key Gambian leaders; the book is an exploration of how their influence transcends their own lifetimes and informs crucial aspects of The Gambia today.

What is leadership, and why is it so important? In what ways does it look very different in different contexts, and in what ways does it look the same? Malcolm Murfett brings together a range of emerging and established scholars to examine these questions in light of some of the mid-twentieth century’s most intriguing national leaders. In a series of striking biographical chapters, lessons are drawn from the apartheid era in South Africa, Lee’s remarkable socio-economic transformation of Singapore, Castro’s revolutionary overhauling of Cuba, and the playing out of Bandaranaike’s populist agenda in Sri Lanka. The book illuminates what Brezhnev and Nixon were looking for in the Cold War and what happened when the people turned against Nyerere in Tanzania, the Shah in Iran, and Ceauşescu in Romania. These case studies address what leadership meant for the individuals whose record in power is being examined. These are not idealised portraits of ‘how to do leadership’ but warts-and-all portrayals of exceptional individuals who scrabbled their way to the top and stayed there for several years during a period of great change. Business schools have long studied the theoretical axioms of corporate leadership. What this book does, however, is to move beyond the theory into the practical realm of politics and statecraft. This is a fascinating book on leadership that will be of interest for students, researchers, and practitioners studying leadership in business and politics, as well as for students of global history, decolonisation, and the Cold War.

Addressing the changing problems and perspectives of Africa, leading Africanists examine economic, political, and ideological trends in the sub-Saharan region since the time of independence, and assess their probable impact on the future of the subcontinent. Contributors deal with such essential topics as the influence of ideology on the evolution of African politics; the role of the military in African politics; the decline in food production and economic crises as a direct threat to the continent's independence; the problem of South Africa and the U.S. position with regard to South Africa; and the failure of the African collective security system.

In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War. Yet just fifteen years later France had decolonized, and by 1960 only a few small island territories remained under French control.The process of decolonization in Indochina and Algeria has been widely studied, but much less has been written about decolonization in France's largest colony, French West Africa. Here, the French approach was regarded as exemplary -- that is, a smooth transition successfully managed by well intentioned French politicians and enlightened African leaders. Overturning this received wisdom, Chafer argues that the rapid unfurling of events after the Second World War was a complex , piecemeal and unpredictable process, resulting in a 'successful decolonization' that was achieved largely by accident. At independence, the winners assumed the reins of political power, while the losers were often repressed, imprisoned or silenced.This important book challenges the traditional dichotomy between 'imperial' and 'colonial' history and will be of interest to students of imperial and French history, politics and international relations, development and post-colonial studies.

Political Theories of Decolonization provides an introduction to some of the seminal texts of postcolonial political theory. The difficulty of founding a new regime is an important theme in political theory, and the intellectual history of decolonization provides a rich--albeit overlooked--opportunity to explore it. Many theorists have pointed out that the colonized subject was a divided subject. This book argues that the postcolonial state was a divided state. While postcolonial states were created through the struggle for independence, they drew on both colonial institutions and reinvented pre-colonial traditions. Political Theories of Decolonization illuminates how many of the central themes of political theory such as land, religion, freedom, law, and sovereignty are imaginatively explored by postcolonial thinkers. In doing so, it provides readers access to texts that add to our understanding of contemporary political life and global political dynamics.

In African politics, Kenya's Jomo Kenyatta, Tanzania's Julius Nyerere, and Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah were known for their early radical ideas, and in the case of Nkrumah and Nyerere, for their socialistic political stance. Kenyatta was well known for his suspected leadership in the Mau-Mau revolt against British colonial rule; Nyerere for his "Ujamaa", a cooperative/socialist enterprise; and Kwame Nkrumah as the indigenous African leader who, in 1957, lit the torch of modern African political independence. This book analyzes their nationalistic-cum-Pan-Africanist and overall political contributions to African history.

Leading scholars demonstrate how colonial subjects, national liberation movements, and empires mobilized human rights language to contest self-determination during decolonization.