Encompassing the time period from the colonial era to the present day, this book critically examines the changing nature of African politics and the factors that underpin such changes. We argue in the volume that many of the problems that plague contemporary politics (ethnicity, governance, conflict, bad economic policies, the absence of dialogue and other social issues) have their roots in the fifteen years after the Second World War, just prior to independence (1945–1960). Because these issues had been grossly mismanaged by the colonial enterprise, those fifteen years could arguably be characterized as the incubation period for the dysfunction that has stymied African politics since independence. For it was during these transitional years that African leaders learned how not to speak to each other. How to introduce meaningful dialogue to address issues between and among Africans is where the transition in African politics stands today. The approach used here is interdisciplinary, giving the book a wider appeal to those interested in history, political science, peace and conflict studies, international relations and many disciplines. Additionally, the topics covered are so important and intellectual, and have been penned by an A-team of African scholars that other scholars, students, and professionals can use the volume as a reference text. Therefore, college students (both undergraduate and graduate), college instructors, researchers, policy-makers and the development community working to stabilize Africa will find the book to be of immense importance. Furthermore, this volume will serve as a guide for advocates for the development community on how to address the numerous problems affecting the continent, as well as the correct approach to boosting public awareness about contemporary African issues.

"This is an authoritative book on a critical aspect of Malcolm X's courageous political work and thought. Connecting the struggle of Africans and African Americans for liberation to the geopolitics of the Cold War in Africa, this impressive book documents Malcolm X's passionate commitment to Pan-Africanism and black internationalism during the turbulent age of decolonization. To bring this important story to life, the authors' masterfully integrate the scholarship on the US Black freedom struggle and Africa's anticolonial nationalism. Impressive in depth and breadth, the book is lucid and analytical-a powerful testament to Malcolm X's legacy to African and African American liberation." -Olufemi Vaughan, Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies & History, Bowdoin College In the current context of the Black Lives Matter movement, this book which examines the seminal contributions of Malcolm X and his explorations of his African roots could not be timelier. The book details the significant impact of Malcolm X's legacy on Africana thought in the context of the US Black freedom movement and anticolonial nationalism in Africa in the age of decolonization. Through Malcolm X's spirited commitment to Black internationalism during these turbulent moments in world history, this book integrates the story of the US Black freedom movement with the struggle for self-determination in Africa. See www.cambriapress.com/books/9781604979244.cfm for more information. This book is in the Cambria African Studies Series (General Editor: Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin; and Associate Editor: Moses Ochonu, Vanderbilt University).

The first comprehensive and authoritative history of work and labour in Africa; a key text for all working on African Studies and Labour History worldwide.

Boxing is no cakewalk! Azumah Ring Professor Nelson in the Social History of Ghanaian Boxing explores the social history of boxing in Ghana and its interesting nexus with the biography of Azumah Nelson, unquestionably Ghanas most celebrated boxer. The book posits that sports constitute more than mere games that people play. They are endowed with enormous political, cultural, economic and social power that can influence peoples lives in various ways. Boxing is no cakewalk! interrogates the social meaning and impact of boxing within the colonial and postcolonial milieux of popular culture in Ghana. Consequently, it reconsiders the prevailing conception of boxing as adversative to enlightened human culture by arguing that it is a positive formulator of individual and national identities. The historicising of sports and the lives of sportspersons in Ghana provides an eloquent backdrop for an understanding of the past social dynamics and their effect in the present. The books analytical narrative offers an intellectual contribution to the promising areas of social and cultural history in Ghanas historiography and the scholarly discourse on identity formation and social empowerment through the popular culture of sports.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of tables -- Notes on contributors -- 1 Introduction: dissent, protest and dispute Africa -- Part I Protest and dissent in Africa -- 2 The music of heaven, the music of earth, and the music of brats: Tuareg Islam, the devil, and musical performance -- 3 Finding social change backstage and behind the scenes in South African theatre -- 4 Soccer and political (ex)pression in Africa: the case of Cameroon -- 5 Child labor resistance in southern Nigeria, 1916-38 -- 6 M'Fam goes home: African soldiers in the Gabon Campaign of 1940 -- 7 "Disgraceful disturbances": TANU, the Tanganyikan Rifles, and the 1964 Mutiny -- Part II Ethnic/land and other disputes in Africa -- 8 The role of ethnicity in political formation in Kenya: 1963-2007 -- 9 Land, boundaries, chiefs and wars in Nigeria -- 10 Borders and boundaries within Ethiopia: dilemmas of group identity, representation and agency -- 11 Rural agrarian land conflicts in postcolonial Nigeria's central region -- 12 The evolution of the Mungiki militia in Kenya, 1990 to 2010 -- 13 Refugee-warriors and other people's wars in post-colonial Africa: the experience of Rwandese and South African military exiles (1960-94) -- 14 Oiling the guns and gunning for oil: the youth and Niger Delta oil conflicts in Nigeria -- Index

This edited volume provides an interdisciplinary and balanced discussion on the changing dynamics of identities in Africa, with a focus on gender, ethno-cultural, and religious identity.

The global rise in pandemics, most recently COVID-19, and other health challenges, some of which are due to climate change, have imposed significant challenges on the healthcare systems in economies around the world. Thus, this book deals with an issue that is very timely and relevant, not just in Africa but globally. It critically assesses healthcare reforms in Ghana under the Fourth Republic, since 1993. Although it focuses on Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme of 2003, the book instructively goes beyond this program. The book argues that, although Ghana is a bellwether of healthcare reforms in Africa, its healthcare initiatives are still far from the service haven of healthcare as a human right. Themes that animate the book’s argument include the need to translate human rights law, such as the right to health, into practical policies that work for ordinary citizens. Key highlights of the book include an increased accent on health as a human right, emphasis on comparative analysis in healthcare studies, and the formulation of a four-hallmark framework, embedded in economics, law, politics, and human rights, to act as a guide for assessment of healthcare reforms in Africa in particular, and Ghana more specifically. Using Ghana as a case study and analytical window into the world, the book offers a valuable and timely resource for academics, students and policymakers across the disciplines of development and healthcare economics, law, public policy, political science, sociology, and African and Caribbean studies, as well as in various fields in health science.