Governance and Leadership in Africa

Many of the problems in Africa today, including widespread poverty and civil unrest, can be traced to the continent's legacy of bad governance. In the post-independence period, authoritarian strongmen took control of many countries, enriching themselves and their cronies by exploiting the people's labor and their country's resources. In recent years, however, a growing number of African states have embraced democratic principles and established transparent and open governments.

In this book the noted Africa scholar Dr. Robert Rotberg examines the current state of governance and leadership in Africa. He discusses the various types of government found in the continent, clearly showing the correlation between the quality of a country's leadership and the quality of life enjoyed by that country's people.