Central Africa: Crises, Reform and Reconstruction

Central Africa: Crises, Reform and Reconstruction
ESD Fomin and John W Forje
Published April 2005; 272 pages; ISBN 2-86978-151-2
‘This book contains insightful and well-articulated analyses of key factors and issues for nation building in Cameroon and the Central African sub region in terms of the socio-economico-political variables for the enterprise of natural development’.
Professor Beban Sammy Chumbow, Rector University of Yaounde 1, Cameroon.
‘This comprehensive work covers a wide range of issues affecting the Central African sub-region and argues that though most of the problems affecting African states are traceable to colonial and the Cold-War eras, authoritarian leaderships, despotism, consolidated through ethnic hegemony, politics of exclusion, corruption and unhealthy romance with forces of neo-colonialism are equally to be blamed. ... This is no doubt a timely publication and a must read for any one interested in the politics of Africa’.
Iroanya Richardo, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
This timely book addresses development problems and prospects in Central Africa. Drawing from individual case studies, global debates and experiences, the contributors provide a rich repertoire of reflections and insights on economic integration and activities, and on the internal and external politics of the different states in the subregion. Strikingly, all the studies point to the fact that Central African states, although possessing tremendous natural and human resources and peopled by communities thirsty for development, have for a long time remained under the spell and chaos of bad governments and bad economic policies and practices. A consequence has been endemic poverty and misery for all but an elite few. Informed both by their empirical findings and experiences as social actors, the authors of this important volume highlight not only the failure of democracy to take root in the subregion, but also how corruption, lack of transparency and accountability in governance and business have detrimentally become fashionable, making the prospects of reform an ever more extravagant dream.
E.S.D. Fomin has a Doctorate in History from the University of Yaounde. He is the author of four books, has published several scientific articles, and participated in many seminars, conferences, and symposia.
John W. Forje is currently Archie Mafeje Fellow at the African Institute of South Africa, Pretoria. He was educated at the Universities of Lund, Hull and Salford. He is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science, University of Yaounde II-Soa; and a Visiting Lecturer, University of Buea, Cameroon. He is author of a number of books and articles.
Africa: CFA 10,000; non-CFA zone, 20.00USD; Rest of the world: 25.00 USD
Contents

Introduction
E.S.D. Fomin and John W. Forje

Section I: Nation Building and Regional Integration: Problems and Prospects
 
Regional Economic Blocs in Central Africa: What Went Right and What Went Wrong?
Arsene Honore Gideon Nkama
 
The Paucity and Irregularity of Anglophone Newspapersdin Cameroon Victor Cheo and Henry Muluh
 
The Management of Ethnic Diversity in Cameroon: The Case of the Coastal Areas
Emmanuel Yenshu Vubo
 
Effects of the Foreign Debt Burden on Saving Ratios in the CEMAC Zone
George Ndoh Mbanga
 
The NEPAD Initiative: A Basis for Fostering Economic Recovery in the CEMAC Zone
Ntangsi Max Memfih
 
Checking Rebels or Chasing Fortunes: Foreign States’ Elites and the DR Congo Conflict (1997–2002)
Oladiran W. Bello
 
The Youth and Environmental Education in Cameroon: A Study of Secondary School-based Environmental Clubs
Andrew Wujung Vukenkeng
 
From Village to National and Global Art: Whose Art?
Walter Nkwi
 
Section II : The Weird Wind of Democratisation and Governance
 
Traumas, Memories and ‘Modern’ Politics in Central Africa
E. S. D. Fomin
 
Tribulations of a Democratic Transition: The Cameroonian Experience
Valentine Ameli Tabi
 
Protection against Human Rights Abuses in the Central Africa  Sub-Region: The Case of Children
Margaret Ayike
 
The Vicissitudes of Cameroon Civil Society in the 1990s: What Lessons for the Central African Region?
Susanna Yene Awasom
 
Rethinking Political Will and Empowerment as Missing Dimensions in Post-Conflict Reform and Reconstruction in the Central African Sub-Region
John W. Forje
 
Conflict and Violence in Central Africa: The Political Economy Behind Internal and External Networks in Fomenting War in the Sub-Region
Ian Taylor
 
For orders :
Africa: 
Publications and Dissemination
CODESRIA
Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop x Canal IV
BP 3304
CP 18524, Dakar, Senegal
Email:
[email protected]
Rest of the world: 
African Books Collective
The Jam Factory
27 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HU
Email:
[email protected]
Web:
www.africanbookscollective.com