Contentious Politics in Africa

Since the decolonization of the African continent that began in earnest in the late 1950s, the trajectory of the continent's socioeconomic change and development has seen its fair share of contentious politics. Such contentions range from benign forms of electoral contestations and conflicts over the form and substance of democratic reform to spirited violence and outright war manifested in coups and counter-coups as well as the newly emergent specter of terrorism, particularly in the regions of West and East Africa. This volume grapples with this broad spectrum of the forces at play in the contentious dynamics of social change and development in Africa under the themes of violence, war, and political change; the dynamics of socioeconomic change and development; social movements and identity politics; and the politics of revolts and protests.

This book is part of the African World Series, edited by Toyin Falola, Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, University of Texas at Austin.