African Politics: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #581

by Ian Taylor

Africa is a continent of 54 countries and over a billion people. However, despite the rich diversity of the African experience, it is striking that continuations and themes seem to be reflected across the continent, particularly south of the Sahara. Questions of underdevelopment, outside exploitation, and misrule are characteristic of many--if not most-states in Sub-Saharan Africa.

In this Very Short Introduction Ian Taylor explores how politics is practiced on the African continent, considering the nature of the state in Sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. Exploring the historical and contemporary factors which account for Africa's underdevelopment, he also analyses why some African countries suffer from high levels of political violence while others are spared. Unveiling the ways in which African state and society actually function beyond the formal institutional facade, Taylor discusses how external factors--both inherited and contemporary--act upon the continent.

ABOUT THE The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Africa, History, Burundi

141 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2018

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

African Politics In The Very Short Introduction Series

The Very Short Introduction Series of Oxford University Press offers readers the opportunity to learn about many things. Ian Taylor's recent work in the series, "African Politics" explores sub-Saharan Africa from the late 1950s when much of the continent achieved independence. With over 50 independent African countries, shown in a table in the book, this short book cannot provide detail on the political history of any individual country, let alone an entire continent. Instead the book offers a broad, informed overview and also explores underlying historical causes. A scholar with extensive experience both studying and working in Africa, Taylor is Professor of International Relations and African Political Economy at the University of St. Andrews.

Taylor defines the subject of politics in Africa and elsewhere as "dictat[ing] who gets what and when". He finds that African politics have been controlled by economics and by underdevelopment, by which he means that the resources of most countries in Africa have not been used for the benefit of the country and its people but rather have been redirected elsewhere. He shows how African politics subsequent to independence has exacerbated underdevelopment. Under a facade of national government, many African leaders have practiced "verandah politics" in which they rule their country corruptly, secretly, and informally for their own benefit and for the benefit of a clique. With independence, African resources continue to be diverted to foreign corporations and countries for the benefit of the local "big man".

Taylor offers a historical explanation for African underdevelopment. He explores the long history of slavery which, among many other things, worked to reduce the African population base by half. Then, Taylor explores the 19th century history of colonization and brutality by many European powers. In many states, the colonization process led to the creation of a small African elite. With the attainment of independence, many of the elite became the rulers and carried on the exploitative practices of the colonialist predecessors.

In successive chapters, Taylor explores African history, the transfers of power upon independence, the frequent politics of corruption and nepotism, and the role of women in African politics. In an interesting chapter, Taylor discounts the role of identity politics -- differences in religious or tribal affiliation -- in Africa. Taylor argues that political issues based on identity are in large fact a consequence of economic factors based on underdevelopment and that the ruling elites use identity as an excuse to keep a poor, subservient population in check. Taylor discusses the military role in many African states which has led to instability due to coups and counter-coups. He finds this has been diminishing in recent years. Taylor also points to recent efforts at democratization in several African countries which he finds have had mixed but on the whole less than full success. In the final chapter of the book Taylor explores who African states relate to the broader international community, particularly to providers of financial assistance, and, most tellingly, to other states within Africa. Again, he finds Africa unfortunately not well situated to make progress.

I was glad to have the opportunity to think about Africa through this book. My interest was piqued by two other books in the Very Short Introduction series which offered broad overviews of Africa from different perspectives. John Parker's and Richard Rathbone's book "African History" covered some of the material of this book with an emphasis on Africa's past and on the difficulties of historiography in studying a vast, diverse continent. Jacob Olupona's book "African Religions" offers a brief introduction both to Christianity and Islam in Africa and to the continued role of many native African religions. These three books offer a fascinating overview of Africa and its history. These three books, and others in the series, show how much there is to be learned in the world and the delights of learning. They also teach about human frailty and shortcomings and about how much remains to be done.

Robin Friedman

[Eilif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to broach such a broad topic in such a concise format, but Taylor did a good job explaining macro trends adding examples and nuance where possible. Left me with new knowledge I'll use in papers and wanting to read more.

[Harry Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good book. Most interesting were its points on how colonialism contributed to the present structure of tribes and ethnicities, and the importance of these identity groups to African politics. I would've liked the international relations section to be longer, but that's just where I come from as an IR guy.

[Anggid Primastiti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Done in one sitting! Honestly i only picked it up bcs i was curious about Africa after watching a documentary video about Burundi (apparently one of the poorest country in the world). How can a country be this poor? It’s so messed up i cant even comprehend why. And this book kinda answers that! Turns out it’s all because of how messed up politics has been there, from pre-colonial times to post-colonial. This one really made me even more skeptical about all that donor money from rich countries. Does it even reach the people who actually need it? Very very sad and concerning and confusing until i caught myself thinking about how to actually change the system hmmmm. One last honest thing i’d like to say…reading this what-so-called ‘a very short introduction’ felt no different than reading a horror story. Politics in Africa are so bad. Maybe i should try reading another book :(((((

[John McNeil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure if I should count this or not but figured I would since it offers a lot of good arguments regarding economic development/growth and political issues in Africa. Obv this book shouldn’t be all you read, it’s incredibly broad given its name and the fact that it’s like 120 pages, but Taylor has a good grasp on the continent.

One critique would be that when he discusses women in African politics, he doesn’t mention some of the prominent women politicians like Ellen Sirleaf (former Pres of Liberia) or Samia Suluhu Hassan (Pres of Tanzania who was VP when the book was published).

Ian Taylor passed away in 2021. Sad he can’t expand further on his arguments in this volume and his other works, but will def check out some of his other stuff.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

VSI books pack a lot of info in them, and this one was no exception. Of course, it's unfair to include all of Africa in one small book about politics, just as one would miss a lot in a short book about North American politics. But without a book like this people would read a lot less about Africa. The future is going to get trickier for the continent, with a lot of potential for better or worse days ahead, and Taylor does a great job of covering all of that.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

The British Africanist scholar Ian Taylor published African Politics: A Very Short Introduction in 2018. The book was an excellent introduction to African Politics as of 2018. Sadly, the world has changed a lot since 2018. For example, six countries in West and Central Africa have had military coups since 2020 (Gathmann, 2023). Writing in 2018, Taylor ends his chapter on the military in African politics with the cautious hope that coups in African countries are rarer in the early 21st Century than in the late 20th Century (Taylor 90-93). This Chapter, which is seven, is entitled “The Military in African Politics” (Taylor 81-93). I read the book on my Kindle. Sadly, Taylor’s cautious prediction did not come to pass. I liked all the tables in the book. The book has illustrations and maps. The book has a section of references and “further reading” (Taylor 131-136). The book has an index. The book has an introduction (Taylor 1-10). The first two chapters look at the history of African history. The remaining chapters look at the role of patronage in African politics (Taylor 44-55). Chapter 5 is entitled “Women in African Politics” (Taylor 56-67). Chapter 6 is entitled “The Role of Identity in African Politics” (Taylor 68-80). The remaining three chapters are on the military's role in African politics, democracy, and Africa’s current place in international relations. Taylor’s book is an excellent short introduction to African politics, even if the book is a little older.
Works Cited:
Gathmann, Sandra. 2023, September 7. “What’s behind the wave of coups in Africa? | Start Here.” Al Jazeera English. YouTube. Video, 10:21 minutes. What’s behind the wave of coups in Africa? | Start Here (youtube.com)

[J Grimsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book as a general interest read - I've read a good number of A very Short Introduction book. I was not very impressed with it.
It was an interesting summery but came I felt from a particular angle and had gaps.
For example
It did not really cover North Africa.
Nor South Africa and it's defeat of Apartheid.
The Commonwealth was mentioned at no point.
The power of multinationals was very lightly mentioned
Liberia was mentioned but not the split between the Black American and indigenous people.
Religion was skipped as were missionaries.

Further checking - only on Google - it seemed that the author had written a number of articles from a Gramsci viewpoint and did not think to mention his standpoint in his book.
I want to read more of the Author's work - I quiet like it but possibly not suitable for someone trying to understand a little of African Politics.

[Harry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taylor's book if perfect window it African politics. Though, as Taylor points out, Africa is a very diverse continent, and each country has it's own unique political picture, indeed Taylor, mainly focus on sub-Saharan countries, Taylor introduces some broad themes the role of women, and over the military, was 'democracy' looks like and the effect of identity and patronage. ,importantly pointed how colonialism has effected these themes, and on African as a whole. Though some parts made scratch my head, the book is certainty worth a read to anyone wanting to do why African politics is the way it is.

[martine^-^ · Rating 3 out of 5]

mhmm i guess there’s only so much such a short book about such a large continent can teach you. i think this book gave a decent overview given the large feat the author undertook. some very insightful details i hadn’t connected specifically regarding colonialism’s affects of agriculture and production in present day economies and trading patterns. i felt myself wincing a lot tho at phrasing of some of the arguments since much of the blame felt placed on the African countries themselves rather than the west exploiting it. I probably would’ve winced less if this book was written by a Black author. nonetheless, i thought he was pretty self aware of his position in the writing of this book.

[Abbey Sibanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my doubts that someone can write something on a broad topic such as 'African Politics', Ian Taylor did so with brilliance, taking few pages to explain different scenarios in different contexts. I like how he articulates how colonialism had an effect on current political dynamics in Africa. He was not blaming everything on colonialism, he explained how circumstances and the narrow interests of current African leaders also contribute to the underdevelopment of the continent both economically and politically.

[Sean]

I found this one really helpful--there was a nice balance between elucidating general causes and grouping countries' histories into different types, and I though the balance between pointing to colonial and post-colonial Western deleterious influences and to problems with African leadership seemed reasonable (and again while sorting countries into categories of different sorts rather than making whole-continent generalizations).

[beeesworld · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, seems the colonizers did everything in their power to ensure that Africa would remain underdeveloped for as long as humanly possible.

[Simba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty little book, complex subject demanding volumes but simplified and summarised into a good quick appetiser for further reading.