African Realism explains Africa's international conflicts of the post-colonial era through international relations theory. It looks at the relationship between Africa's domestic and international conflicts, as well as the impact of factors such as domestic legitimacy, trade, and regional economic institutions on African wars. Further, it examines the relevance of traditional realist assumptions (e.g. balance of power, the security dilemma) to African international wars and how these factors are modified by the exigencies of Africa's domestic institutions, such as neopatrimonialism and inverted legitimacy. This study also addresses the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of international relations theory as it engages African international relations, and especially, its military history

African Realism explains Africa's international conflicts of the post-colonial era through international relations theory. It looks at the relationship between Africa's domestic and international conflicts, as well as the impact of factors such as domestic legitimacy, trade, and regional economic institutions on African wars. Further, it examines the relevance of traditional realist assumptions (e.g. balance of power, the security dilemma) to African international wars and how these factors are modified by the exigencies of Africa's domestic institutions, such as neopatrimonialism and inverted legitimacy. This study also addresses the inconsistencies and inaccuracies of international relations theory as it engages African international relations, and especially, its military history

This study presents a refined Afrocentric critique of world politics. Rejecting earlier wholesale condemnations of Eurocentrism, the author instead roots Afrocentrism in its capacity to offer itself as a worldview supportive of scientific paradigms suggesting social science theory. Arguing that African peoples--their history and humanity--are denigrated in many Eurocentric analyses, Henderson makes clear that Africans in particular, though not exclusively, must promote paradigms rooted in their own historical image and interests. The author offers kimira, an historical African-centered paradigm rooted in an analysis of cultural groups, as a distinct framework for explicating global political dynamics, and an appropriate starting point toward a new understanding of international affairs.