Democratic governance constitutes an enduring challenge for Africa's most populous country, Nigeria. The book reflects on the form, trajectory and content of democratic governance in post-military Nigeria from 1999. Nigeria's democracy remains fragile, conflict sensitive and possibly reversible as the legacy of praetorianism and illiberal political culture constrain the progress and opportunities for democratic growth and consolidation in the country. Progress and expectations are widely disconnected. The policy recommendations contained in the book provides invaluable pathway for reconstituting institutions, politics, power and governance essential for promoting democratic stability and growth in Nigeria.

An essential overview of great kingdoms in African history and their legacies, written by world-leading experts. From the ancient Nile Valley to the savannas of medieval West Africa, the Great Lakes of East Africa and on to the forests and grasslands to the south, African civilizations have given rise to some of the world's most impressive kingdoms. Here, nine leading historians of Africa take a fresh look at these kingdoms over five thousand years of recorded history. How did royal power operate in Africa and how were kings - and queens - 'made'? Did they display their sacred royal power, as in the great public ceremonies of the West African kingdoms of Asante and Dahomey, or hide it away, as beneath the fringed, beaded crowns that concealed the faces of Yoruba kings? How have African peoples recorded, celebrated and critiqued royal authority and its legacies? While absolute monarchy in Africa - as elsewhere in the world - is on the wane in the modern era, 'traditional' kingship continues to exist within many of its present-day nations, preserving ancient cultural ideas about identity and power. Africa's history is often little known beyond the devastation wrought by the slave trade and European colonial rule. Presenting some of the most exciting recent developments in the understanding of states and societies in the deeper past, Great Kingdoms of Africa challenges the outdated notion of the continent as an indistinct realm of 'lost kingdoms'. It shows how kingdoms with deep roots continued to shape African history throughout the twentieth century and into the present day.

One of the earliest and most ambitious projects carried out by the Society of Jesus was the mission to the Christian kingdom of Ethiopia, which ran from 1557 to 1632. In about 1621, crucial figures in the Ethiopian Solomonid monarchy, including King Susenyos, were converted to Catholicism and up to 1632 imposing missionary churches, residences, and royal structures were built. This book studies for the first time in a comprehensive manner the missionary architecture built by the joint work of Jesuit padres, Ethiopian and Indian masons, and royal Ethiopian patrons. The work gives ample archaeological, architectonic, and historical descriptions of the ten extant sites known to date and includes hypotheses on hitherto unexplored or lesser known structures.

In examining the intellectual history in contemporary South Africa, Eze engages with the emergence of ubuntu as one discourse that has become a mirror and aftermath of South Africa’s overall historical narrative. This book interrogates a triple socio-political representation of ubuntu as a displacement narrative for South Africa’s colonial consciousness; as offering a new national imaginary through its inclusive consciousness, in which different, competing, and often antagonistic memories and histories are accommodated; and as offering a historicity in which the past is transformed as a symbol of hope for the present and the future. This book offers a model for African intellectual history indignant to polemics but constitutive of creative historicism and healthy humanism.

This exhaustive exploration of the sociocultural, political, and economic roles of African women through history demonstrates how African women have shaped-and continue to shape-their societies. Women play essential, critical roles in every society; African women south of the Sahara are certainly no different. Women's Roles in Sub-Saharan Africa adds significantly to our understanding of the ways in which women contribute to the fabric of human civilization. This book provides an in-depth exploration of African women's roles in society from precolonial periods to the contemporary era. Topical sections describe the roles that women play in family, courtship and marriage, religion, work, literature and arts, and government. Each of the six chapters has been structured to elucidate women's roles and functions in society as partners, as active participants, as defenders of their status and occupations, and as agents of change. Authors Nana Akua Amponsah and Toyin Falola present a thought-provoking work that looks at the complicated victimhood/powerful-female paradigm in women and gender studies in Africa, and challenge ideological interest in African historiography that privilege male representation. Describes chronological events in women's lives covering precolonial to postcolonial Africa Includes photographs of powerful women in colonial Africa; arts such as bead-making, pottery, and basketry; contemporary women in politics; and more Lists significant bibliographical materials from historical, anthropological, ethnographical, and sociological sources

The contributors come from a range of backgrounds, but meet one imperative qualification: residence or repeated physical presence in South Africa. By bringing together this notable collection of authors, Kitchen impresses upon readers (especially Americans) that the South Africa that will emerge from today's strife will be determined primarily by internal factors. As this volume notes, recent evidence suggests that externally devised initiatives such as Eminent Persons interlocutors, constructive engagement, disinvestment, and economic sanctions can affect but not mandate how or whether South Africa's fractured society can find a way to avoid a lemmings scenario. Policy makers, policy analysts, and other actors both in the U.S. government and policy community concerned with what is going on inside South Africa today will find South Africa to be provocative reading.

This collection gathers together 31 previously out-of-print titles focusing on revolution - the political, economic, military and social aspects of the overthrow of state power. Ranging from nineteenth-century France to late-twentieth-century Caribbean, these books analyse the forms of revolt and the aftermaths of revolution, examining the types of government that result and the reactions of international opinion.

This study of nineteenth-century clove plantations on Zanzibar provides an important contribution to debates in global historical archaeology. Broadening plantation archaeology beyond the Atlantic World, this work addresses plantations run by Omani Arab colonial rulers of Zanzibar. Drawing on archaeological and historical data, this book argues for the need to examine non-Western contexts of colonialism and capitalism as coeval with those in the North Atlantic World. This work explores themes of capitalism, colonialism, plantation landscapes, African Diaspora communities, gender and sexuality, locally produced and imported goods in historic contexts, and Islamic historical archaeology.

This book explores the experiences of 'Indo-Mozambicans,' citizens and residents of Mozambique who can trace their origins to the Indian subcontinent, a region affected by competing colonialisms during the twentieth century. Drawing from ethnographic interviews, the author illustrates why migration developed as both an identity marker and a survival tool for Indo-Mozambicans living in Maputo, in response to the series of independence movements and prolonged period of geo-political uncertainty that extended from 1947 to 1992. A unique examination of post-colonialism, the book argues that four pivotal moments in history forced migratory patterns and ethnic identity formations to emerge among Indo-Mozambicans, namely, the end of the British empire in India and the subsequent partition of India and Pakistan in 1947; the end of the Portuguese empire in India, with the annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu in 1961; the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975; and the civil war of Mozambique from 1977 to 1992. Framing these historical markers as trigger points for shifts in migration and identity formation, this book demonstrates the layered experiences of people subject to Portuguese colonialism and highlights the important perspective of those 'left behind' in migration studies.

Although the reception of the Eastern Father Gregory of Nyssa has varied over the centuries, the past few decades have witnessed a profound awakening of interest in his thought. The Body and Desire sets out to retrieve the full range of Gregory's thinking on the challenges of the ascetic life by examining within the context of his theological commitments his evolving attitudes on what we now call gender, sex, and sexuality. Exploring Gregory's understanding of the importance of bodily and spiritual maturation for the practices of contemplation and virtue, Raphael A. Cadenhead recovers the vital relevance of this vision of transformation for contemporary ethical discourse.

During the Zimbabwean struggle for independence, the settler regime imprisoned numerous activists and others it suspected of being aligned with the guerrillas. This book is the first to look closely at the histories and lived experiences of these political detainees and prisoners, showing how they challenged and negotiated their incarceration.

Of all the states of the Middle East and North Africa, Libya has long been the country about which the least is known. It is only in recent times that scholars and the general public alike have begun to appreciate the complexity of Libya's turbulent history including the recent February 17th Revolution in 2011 when protests broke out throughout Libya, demanding better living conditions and more job opportunities. When the Qaddafi regime responded with force, killing scores of unarmed civilians, the protesters called for regime change. In what came to be known as the February 17th Revolution, the Qaddafi regime was overthrown and Qaddafi was killed in October 2011. In July 2012, the Libyan people elected a General National Congress charged with overseeing the drafting of a new constitution and the election of a national government. This fifth edition of Historical Dictionary of Libya covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 400 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, society, conflicts, and the culture of Libya. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Libya.

Today, the East African state of Tanzania is renowned for wildlife preserves such as the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and the Selous Game Reserve. Yet few know that most of these initiatives emerged from decades of German colonial rule. This book gives the first full account of Tanzanian wildlife conservation up until World War I, focusing upon elephant hunting and the ivory trade as vital factors in a shift from exploitation to preservation that increasingly excluded indigenous Africans. Analyzing the formative interactions between colonial governance and the natural world, The Nature of German Imperialism situates East African wildlife policies within the global emergence of conservationist sensibilities around 1900.

This 7-volume collection originally published between 1963 and 1979 contains a mix of titles on Asia and Africa. The individual titles cover topics including the Commonwealth, education, history, law, literature, politics, and society. Drawing on a great depth of knowledge and research, these titles were written by experts in their respective fields.

"Although the Igbo constitute one of the largest ethnic nationalities of Nigeria and the West African sub-region, little is know about their political history before the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. This book is then a pioneer study of the broad changes Igbo political systems have undergone since the prehistoric period"--

Mohammed Bashir Salau addresses the neglected literature on Atlantic Slavery in West Africa by looking at the plantation operations at Fanisau in Hausaland, and in the process provides an innovative look at one piece of the historically significant Sokoto Caliphate.

The Arab tribes of Iraq, differing widely as they do in customs and manner of speech, remain in all essentials of thought and conduct a distinctive and unique group. Their land embraces wide deserts, fertile fields, and boundless swamp and a unique form of life and living. Taking the central figure of Haji, Rikkan the writer-traveller tries to show an accurate picture of Arab tribal life as a whole.

Development has remained elusive in Africa. Through theoretical contributions and case studies focusing on Southern Africa's former white settler states, South Africa and Zimbabwe, this volume responds to the current need to rethink (and unthink) development in the region. The authors explore how Africa can adapt Western development models suited to its political, economic, social and cultural circumstances, while rejecting development practices and discourses based on exploitative capitalist and colonial tendencies. Beyond the legacies of colonialism, the volume also explores other factors impacting development, including regional politics, corruption, poor policies on empowerment and indigenization, and socio-economic and cultural barriers.