Benin is now perceived of as a model of democracy in Africa because it has successfully established a democratic political system based on consensus and regular and fair elections, and it continues to improve its electoral and parliamentary systems. Since its democracy it has taken important steps towards laying the foundation for the rule of law by establishing stable political institutions that can withstand the test of time. It has also engaged in an important legal, institutional, and regulatory reform to establish a more favorable environment for private initiative. The fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Benin covers its history through a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 900 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Benin.

With permanent military rule widespread throughout Africa, it is clearly important to understand the role of the military in this continent. In Coups and Army Rule in Africa, published in 1976, Samuel Decalo examined four lesser-studied French-African states-the Congo, Benin, Uganda, and Togo-to discover what actually happened when military replaced civilian rule. He argued that African armies cannot be viewed as cohesive, Westernized hierarchies intervening in the political arena from altruistic motives but are instead coteries of cliques composed of ambitious officers seeking self-advancement. Military rule, said Decalo, has not necessarily fostered socioeconomic or political development or stability. Now in a new edition of his provocative book, Decalo defends his position, adding another case study, Niger, bringing the text up to date, and providing a new section on the constraints on military rule in each case study.

Togo's history from precolonial times to the present is one of a struggle for identity and leadership. A territory relatively untouched by neighboring pre-colonial empires was colonized by both the Germans and the French, and even before independence Togo was shaped by the struggle for political control by prominent families. Since the 1990s, widespread political movements have striven to unseat the ruling Gnassingbe family, in power for more than 50 years, only to be repressed by the military or thwarted at the ballot box. Economically more prosperous compared to many of the other countries in the West African region, Togo has diversified its economy from an early dependence on phosphates, and has navigated trade and foreign relations remarkably well for a country of only 7 million people, with a territory less than a quarter the size of neighboring Ghana. With at least 30 ethnic groups and wide array of languages, religions and cultural traditions, Togo is representative of the rich diversity of contemporary Africa, and a vibrant illustration of the dual quest for development and democracy that characterizes the West African region. The fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Togo contains a chronology, an introduction, an extensive bibliography, and a dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Togo.

Having achieved its independence from France in 1960, Chad has run into a serious crises of national building, which have continued to haunt it to the present day, making it one of the poorest and most politically unstable countries on the globe. Chad is a country with sharp geographic and climatic contrasts that puzzle and fascinate the visitor, displaying first a monotonous but majestic portion of the Saharan Desert in the north, punctuated by plains and high altitudes displayed by the Tibesti mountains, where the highest point, Emi Koussi, reaches 11,204 ft.; the middle Central Sahelian zone, where pastoral transhumance lifestyle predominates but where and nut cultivation and harvesting is possible; and an endowed southern tropical zone where the forest and the savanna meet, blessed by several long-running rivers, most notably, the Logone and the Chari that empty their waters into centuries-old Lake Chad. Even though things in Chad seem to have improved during the past 10 years, most observers agree that the path to peace, reconstruction, and economic progress is still long and arduous. This fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Chad contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1300 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Chad.

The fourth edition of the Historical Dictionary of Republic of the Congo provides a comprehensive set of references on the country s history, politics, economics, and culture. It traces the careers of the country s leading personalities into the era following the democratic experiment of the 1990s. It updates the country s social, economic, and political evolution through the first decade of the 21st century. Clark and Decalo provide a snapshot of the Republic of the Congo through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, an extensive bibliography, and the dictionary section of over 700 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, leading political figures, institutions, economic enterprises, ethnic communities, and cultural features. It provides information on many aspects of Congolese society, culture, and society not available on any web-based source or in any other publication. It is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Republic of the Congo."

This book is about the idiosyncratic personal dictatorships sprang up in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. It surveys the social, economic, and political histories of Uganda, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea, exploring conditions that facilitated the rise of the dictatorial triumvirate.