Poverty, Hunger, and Democracy in Africa : Potential and Limitations of Democracy in Cementing Multiethnic Societies.

Cover -- Half Title -- Also by -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Tables -- Figures -- Maps -- Boxes -- Abbreviations -- Acknowledgments -- Preface -- Foreword - John Endicott -- Foreword - Arie Kuyvenhoven -- Part I Introduction and Background -- Introduction -- 1.1 The Black Man's Burden -- From hopeful independence to stagnation -- From prolonged stagnation to a decade of miraculous growth -- New investment opportunities and capital flows to Africa -- Will the commodity crisis and the global recession end Africa's recovery? -- Despite the continent's growth and the more prudent economic policies, poverty continues to rise -- The threat of global warming -- The growing gap between countries, and growing inequalities between people -- Africa's agenda in the coming decade -- Notes -- Part II Coping with EscalatingFood Insecurity -- 2.1 The Threat of Climate Changes -- The haunting Malthusian predicament: the water crisis -- How relevant are Malthus's "principles of production and population"? -- The Neo-Malthusian vision of the limits to growth -- 2.2 Can Africa Feed Its People? -- The Millennium Development Goals: can they end hunger? -- Is Africa reaching limits to growth? -- Can African farmers produce enough food? -- How can African farmers increase their yields? -- Coping with hunger: a global imperative -- 2.3 Is Africa Doomed to Permanent Food Crises? -- Some lessons from the food crisis of 2007-08 -- How can the African countries cope withlocal food shortages? -- Can the food crisis happen again? -- Notes -- Part III Africa's Poverty Traps andObstacles to Growth -- 3.1 The Geographical andMan-Made Obstacles -- The myth of a poverty trap in landlocked countries -- The potential strategy for landlocked countries-regional trade agreements -- Africa's most crippling obstacle: decaying infrastructure -- The "resource curse".

Nigeria's resource curse -- 3.2 The Demographic and Social Changes and the Urbanization of Poverty -- Rural-urban migration and growing urban population -- The urbanization of poverty -- The dilemma: promoting urban industrialization or alleviating rural poverty -- Notes -- Part IV Civil Conflicts, Wars and Democracy: Will Democracy Inflame or Help to Settle Civil Conflicts? -- 4.1 The Roots and Long-Term Effects of Africa's Wars and Civil Conflicts -- The tribal roots of civil conflicts -- Conflicts caused by deprivation and exclusion -- The tribal wars in the Great Lakes region -- The legacy of colonial borders -- Has poverty been the cause of conflicts and wars in Africa? -- 4.2 The Impact of Wars and Civil Conflicts on Africa's Growth and Poverty -- Africa's missing billions -- The threat of rising inequalities -- Africa's "fragile" and "failed" states -- Conditions for aid to fragile states -- Criteria of governance -- The role of state institutions -- Building the state institutions -- The deterioration of the African state institutions -- Does the public trust the public institutions? -- The impediments of the endemic corruption -- 4.3 Will Democracy Settle or Intensify Civil Conflicts? -- The debate over Western-style democracy -- Countries' experiences with the transition to democracy -- Africans' mistrust in democracy -- Do elections intensify tribal conflicts? -- Reducing civil conflicts: external "nation building" interventions vs. internal public pressure -- Sierra Leone: mission accomplished-with external intervention -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Part V The Fourth Wave of Democratization: Will Democracy Cement the African Multiethnic Nation State? -- 5.1 The Transition of the African Countries to Democracy -- The structure of the tribal society -- From the tribal society to the state -- Africa's greatest curse: its autocratic leaders.

Ending the addiction to aid -- 5.2 Can Democracy Help the African States to Cement Their Multiethnic Societies? -- Alternative scenarios of future political developments -- The shape of the democratic reforms in Africa -- The dubious significance of democratic elections -- Notes -- References -- Index.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.