"In this fully revised edition, top scholars of African politics address major currents in Africa and Africa's relationship to the global political and economic orders. The fourth edition focuses on issues of reforming and strengthening states and their economies in sub-Saharan Africa. The nation-state as we know it as a legacy of European rule in Africa, and the primacy of the nation-state remains a bedrock of most contemporary theories of international relations. Yet in the fifth decade of Africa's independence, this colonial inheritance has been profoundly affected both by state weakness and by prospects for real economic and political reform, by continuing marginalization globally and by evolving new relationships with the world community. Including new readings on the AIDS crisis, the regional war on terrorism, and Africa's growing economic engagement with China, this text remains an invaluable resource for students of African and world politics."--BOOK JACKET.

Intimations of an African renaissance : recent progress, long term challenges / John W. Harbeson -- The heritage of colonialism / Crawford Young -- Africa and the world political economy : still caught between a rock and hard place? / Thomas M. Callaghy -- Africa and other civilizations : conquest and counter-conquest / Ali A. Mazrui -- Promising democratization trajectories in Africa's weak states / John W. Harbeson -- In pursuit of authority : civil society and rights-based discourses in Africa / Aili Mari Tripp -- The AIDS crisis : international relations and governance in Africa / Alan Whiteside and Anokhi Parikh -- The privatization of Africa's international relations / William Reno -- Inter-African negotiations and reforming political order / I. William Zartman -- The U.S. role in promoting peaceful African relations / Donald Rothchild -- The war on terrorism in Africa / Princeton N. Lyman -- Euro-Africa relations in the age of maturity / Gilbert M. Khadiagala -- China's engagement in Africa : scope, significance, and consequences / Denis M. Tull -- Reconciling sovereignty with responsibility : a basis for international humanitarian action / Francis M. Deng.