Innovation is critical to growth and development in Africa. In the context of a continent characterized by fast growing economies as well as an array of socioeconomic challenges, such as high levels of poverty, innovation in Africa must be understood in an encompassing manner. Africa needs to foster the emergence of its own Silicon Valley, but it must also foster the invention and adoption of more efficient wood-fueled traditional stoves that limit deforestation and combat climate change. This book contains a number of analytical case studies that examine the nature and origins of emerging high-end innovation hubs in Africa. These hubs are both understudied and little known inside and outside the continent. With this analysis, the book intends to highlight and draw lessons from some of the most promising and successful innovation cases in Africa today, exploring the key factors driving their successful emergence, growth and future prospects. Relevant for scholars, policymakers and business leaders, the book provides both inspiration and useful policy advice that can inform strategies and concrete measures to foster and speed up the pace of innovation in Africa today.

In Economic Growth and Democracy in Post-Colonial Africa: Cabo Verde, Small States, and the World Economy, edited by Joao Resende-Santos and Aminah Fernandes Pilgrim, the contributors provide a comprehensive academic analysis of the political economy of Cabo Verde (Cabo Verde) from its independence in 1975 to the present. Democracy and economic growth have been in short supply in post-colonial Africa. Yet the widespread misperception of this vast and diverse continent as experiencing only failure has overshadowed cases of good governance, human development, and social peace. This volume offers a comprehensive analytical narrative on how Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) forged a nation and navigated the world system since independence to achieve some progress. The volume critically examines its political and institutional evolution, foreign affairs, economy, and development policy. The chapters analyze the sources and nature of this relative success as well as underscore the many shortcomings and challenges ahead. As the first volume in English on Cabo Verde's political economy, it serves as both a primary source and sociopolitical study, featuring some of the most accomplished scholars and policy practitioners. This collection aims to fill this gap in the literature and offers a new perspective on democracy and growth in post-colonial Africa.

Examines why countries imitate the military systems of one another. A book of theory and history, it builds on and extends the most influential theory in international relations - neorealism. It offers an alternative account for emulation and convergence in the international system. It explains why states make certain choices in how to organize, prepare, and fight wars, and how international structures shape their choices. The work develops a neglected area of neorealism, applies it in new ways, widens its explanatory scope, and offers three rich - and uncommon - historical cases based on archival research.

Examines why countries imitate the military systems of one another. A book of theory and history, it builds on and extends the most influential theory in international relations - neorealism. It offers an alternative account for emulation and convergence in the international system. It explains why states make certain choices in how to organize, prepare, and fight wars, and how international structures shape their choices. The work develops a neglected area of neorealism, applies it in new ways, widens its explanatory scope, and offers three rich - and uncommon - historical cases based on archival research.