Summary

How do political systems in Africa work? Is the real business of politics taking place outside the scope of standard political analysis, in an informal, more-personalized setting? How are the prospect: for reform and renewal in African societies affected by the emerging elite? Is modernization in Africa different? Are there within African countries social, political, and cultural factors which abet the continuation of patrimony and conspire against economic development?Relations of power between rulers and the ruled continue to influence the role of the state and the expectations of the newly emphasized civil society. The question of identity, the resurgence of ethnicity and its attendant tribal politics, the growing importance of African religions, and the increasing tendency to resort to extreme and often ritualized violence in situations of civil disorder point to a process of re-traditionalizing in African societies.