West African States Failure And Promise

Comparison of recent political developments of seven states in West Africa - discusses politics, economic policy and government in Ghana, cote d'ivoire, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Guinea and Sierra Leone. References and statistical tables.

A provocative contribution to the debate on the nature of the state and political processes in Africa.

Why do many Asian, African, and Latin American states have such difficulty in directing the behavior of their populations--in spite of the resources at their disposal? And why do a small number of other states succeed in such control? What effect do failing laws and social policies have on the state itself? In answering these questions, Joel Migdal takes a new look at the role of the state in the third world. Strong Societies and Weak States offers a fresh approach to the study of state-society relations and to the possibilities for economic and political reforms in the third world. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, state institutions have established a permanent presence among the populations of even the most remote villages. A close look at the performance of these agencies, however, reveals that often they operate on principles radically different from those conceived by their founders and creators in the capital city. Migdal proposes an answer to this paradox: a model of state-society relations that highlights the state's struggle with other social organizations and a theory that explains the differing abilities of states to predominate in those struggles.

By examining three centuries of history, this book shows how vital border regions have been in shaping states and social contracts.

West African Worlds provides a critical assessment of social, economic and political change in Africa’s most populous and arguably most externally focused region. With an emphasis on globalisation and modernisation, case studies and commentary are integrated throughout to highlight the concerns and issues of the region. Enriched by an impressive mix of West African voices, this text combines theory and application with policy and practice to address socio-economic change, the pursuit of livelihoods, and development within West Africa.

This reissue, first published in 1983, is an authoritative study of economic integration among the states of West Africa, focusing upon the issues and experience of the four main initiatives for regional integration in West Africa, namely the Economic Community of West African States, the Mano River Union, the Communauté Economique de l’Afrique de l’Ouest, and the recent initiative for the establishment of an economic and monetary union between Senegal and the Gambia.

Originally published in 1986, Politics and Government in African States 1960-1985 deals with the politics of sub-Saharan African states since independence. Each chapter considers the formal structure of government at the time of independence and traces the subsequent changes. Each chapter also describes the development of the state machinery, the civil service, the parastatals, defence and police forces, party structure, the political opposition and trade unions. The economics of African states are dealt with insofar as they affect politics and government.