Africa Review of Books: Appeal for reviewers

Africa Review of Books would : Carrying out a review

The editors of the recently launched CODESRIA publication - Africa Review of Books would like to invite scholars to review any of the books listed below. Those interested in reviewing the books listed below ought to send their mailing address so that the publishers can send the books directly to them. The deadline for receiving the book reviews is June 30, 2005. We invite those who are interested in carrying out a review to please read the attached Notes for Contributors carefully.

Scholars interested in carrying out a review and who wish to have the book mailed to them should send e-mail to [email protected] indicating their mailing address and the book they wish to review. Colleagues who have come across other books worthy of review are welcome to send reviews. We thank you in advance for your support to the Africa Review of Books.

AFRICA REVIEW OF BOOKS

Books for Review

I. James Currey Publishers

1. Bruce Berman, Will Kymlicka & Dickson Eyoh, Ethnicity & Democracy in Africa

CONTENTS: I Ethnicity & democracy in historical & comparative perspective Introduction: ethnicity & the politics of democratic nation-building in Africa by Bruce Berman, Dickson Eyoh & Will Kymlicka - Individuals' basic security needs & the limits of democratization in Africa by Peter Ekeh - Ethnicity, bureaucracy & democracy: the politics of trust by Bruce Berman - Nation-building & minority rights: comparing Africa & the West by Will Kymlicka ii the dynamics of ethnic development in africa Moral & political argument in Kenya by John Lonsdale - Contesting local citizenship: liberalization & the politics of difference in Cameroon by Dickson Eyoh - The burdens of the past & the challenges of the present: coloured identity & the rainbow nation by Cheryl Hendricks - Reaching the limits of universal citizenship: 'minority' struggles in Botswana by Jacqueline Solway - Ethnicity & Nigerian politics: the past in the Yoruba present by Toyin Falola iii ethnicity & the politics of democratization Hegemonic enterprises & instrumentalities of survival: ethnicity & democracy in Kenya by E.S. Atieno Odhiambo - 'The dog that did not bark, or why Natal did not take off'. Ethnicity & democratization in South Africa: the case of Kwa Zulu Natal by Shula Marks - Jomo Kenyatta & the rise of the ethno-nationalist state in Kenya by Githu Muigai - Between ethnic memories & colonial history: the Democratic Forces Movement of Casamance & the struggle for the independence of Casamance (Senegal) by Mamadou Diouf - Ethnicities as 'first nations' of the Congolese nation-state: some preliminary observations by Bogumil Jewsiewicki & Leonard N'Sanda Buleli - Ethnicity & the politics of democratization in Nigeria by Raufu Mustapha iv ethnicity & institutional design in africa Multi-level governance in South Africa by Richard Simeon & Christina Murray - Liberal multi-culturalism & the problems of institutional instability by John Boye Ejobowah - Conclusion: African ethnic politics & the paradoxes of democratic development by Bruce Berman, Dickson Eyoh & Will Kymlicka

2. Douglas H. Johnson, The Root Causes of Sudan's Civil Wars

CONTENTS:

Historical structure of north-south relations - British overrule - Nationalism, independence & the first civil war - The Addis Ababa Agreement & the regional governments - Beginning of the second civil war - Interlude - The momentum of liberation - The SPLA split - The Nuer civil war - Multiple civil wars - The war economy & relief - Ideas of peace & war - Bibliographic essay - Appendix: chronology

3. Alain Ricard, The Languages & Literatures of Africa: The Sands of Babel

CONTENTS:
Introduction - The classification & ranking of African languages: on concepts & misconceptions - Tradition & orality - The manuscript heritage - Books & the Latin alphabet in Western Africa - Books & the languages of East & Southern Africa - The go-betweens: writing in two languages - Towards a new poetic discourse? - Inventing theatre - Narrative fiction: the sands of Babel - Bibliography

4. Ruth Watson, 'Civil Disorder is the Disease of Ibadan': Chieftaincy & Civic Culture in a Yoruba City

CONTENTS: The civic Ibadan & the war of the pen - A composite band of marauders: urban settlement & chieftaincy - Ibadan makes history: civil disorder, militarism & the Yoruba past - A greater punishment than death: warrior chiefs & early colonial rule - A great blot: indirect rule, native gentlemen & renowned capitalists - Breeding civic pride: progressive politics & pageantry - The cloth of field of gold: material cultures & civil power - Weighty words: the material forms of civic discourse in colonial Ibadan - Appendix I Chieftaincy titles in Ibadan history - Appendix II Senior title-holders in the Bale & Balogun lines, 1902-14 - Bibliography

II. Africa Institute of South Africa

Korwa G. Adar, John G. Nyuot Yoh & Eddy Maloka, eds., Sudan Peace Process: Challenges and Future Prospects

This volume encapsulates the dichotomy of the Sudan peace process, by incorporating the viewpoints of significant political representatives, academics and international observers, in addition to addressing thematic issues of interest to scholars and activists in the field, as well as the largest part of agreements and accords signed by belligerent parties over the last few decades.

Apart from the political and economic imbalances between the Northern and Southern regions of Sudan, which incited the conflict, there are many other issues, stemming from a vibrant history of colonial, African, and Arab rule, which should be factored into the equation, such as the ethnic and religious divergence, the accruement of oil wealth, and the need for security mechanisms in Sudan.

After many decades of civil war in Sudan, and numerous theory-oriented and empirically focused case studies on the subject, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) peace process in Kenya, between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) represents the best hope for the Sudanese people.

III. The Nordic Africa Institute

1. Signe Arnfred (Ed.). Re-thinking Sexualities in Africa

The volume brings together papers by African and Nordic/Scandinavian gender scholars and anthropologists, in attempts to investigate and critically discuss existing lines of thinking about sexuality in Africa, while at the same time creating space for alternative approaches.

Issues of colonial and contemporary discourses on 'African sexuality" and on 'female genital mutilation' are being discussed, as well as issues of female agency and of femininists' engagement with HIV/AIDS.

The volume contributes to conemporary efforts of re-thinking sexualities in the light of femininist, queer and postcolonial theory.

2. Monica Kathina Juma and Astri Suhrke, Eroding Local Capacity: International Humanitarian Action in Africa

A critical examination of the interplay between international and local actors operating in the humanitarian arena in Africa. All sides emphasixe the need to build local capacity for humanitarian action, yet the results have not been substantial. In some cases, whatever local capacity did exist has been overwhelmed by the international aid presence. Why is this so? .... The book focuses on cases from East Africa and the Horn. It considers institutional capacity in the public and private sector, as well as legal and social norms of humanitarian action.

3. Harri Englund (Ed.), A Democracy of Chameleons: Politics and Culture in the New Malawi

After thirty years of autocratic rule .... Malawians experienced a transtition to multiparty democracy in 1994. ...

This book presents original research on the economic, social, political and cultural consequences of the new era. The book engages with a culture of politics in order to expand the purview of critical analysis from the elite to the populace in its full diversity. A new generation of scholars, most of them from Malawi, cover virtually every issue casuing debate in the New Malawi: poverty and hunger, the plight of civil servants, the role of the judiciary, political intolerance and hate speech, popular music as a form of protest, clergy activism, voluntary associations and ethnic revival, responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and controversies over women's rights. Both chameleon-like leaders and the donors of Malawi's foreign aid come under critical scrutiny for supporting superficial democratization.

4. Arne Bigsten, Bereket Kebede and Abebe Shimelis, Poverty, Income Distribution and Labour Markets in Ethiopia

Deals with the many aspects of poverty and income distribution in Ethiopia. It analyses the determinants of poverty and how its conditions have changed in both rural and urban areas over time. Rural and urban poverty profiles and the dynamics of poverty are examined, measurements taken of consumption poverty are compared with individual perceptions of poverty, and an analysis is made of income distribution. In addition, the functioning of the urban labour market returns to education, and the effects of education on household welfare are investigated. Finally, there is extensive discussion of the wide range of policies that need to be coordinated for poverty reduction in Ethiopia.

African Books Collective

1. Amulets and Dreams. War Youth and Change in Africa

Photographs by Guy Timmim & Omar Badsha

This is a powerful and sobering collection of photographs, bringing to light and documenting some of the most tragic aspects of Mrica's recent social history. Beautifully produced, with 124 duo-tone photographs, the book is structured as a series of photographic montages of the conflicts in Sierra Leone, Angola, Mozambique, Eritrea and Burundi; each section introduced with a short critical essay on the history of the conflict. The photography is particularly concerned with the role of children in armed conflicts, the impact of war on children's education and lives, and the refugee implications of war. Many show the relationship between wars and the wider political context - the position of multinationals, the diamond industry for example. The work is a co-publishing project with South African History Online, a major Web site people's history and publishing project, committed to addressing the legacy of the apartheid past and recording the contribution of the history and achievement of all South Africans; and the Institute for Security Studies, a regional South African think-tank with a focus on human security. Amara Essy contributes the forward.

2. Malangatana

Edited by Julio Navarro. Translated from the Portuguese by Harriet C. McGuire, Zita C. Nunes & William P. Rougle

Malangatana is one of the great African artists of the 20th century. Best known for his dramatic paintings, he has produced a broad range of works in diverse media -drawings, murals, ceramics, sculptures, as well as poetry and music. For the most part his works are commentaries on the historical and political events in his country Mozambique, in which he was deeply involved, and on the experiences of colonialism, the anti-colonial struggle, civil war, and independence. They also explore broader themes of violence and resistance to violence, capturing the hardships of human life and manifestations of human dignity. This superbly, largely colour-illustrated book of Malangatana's paintings is a showcase of his work. The paintings are accompanied by two introductory essays; one on the artist's biography; the other a critical essay situating the paintings and the importance of his work in context. To date only available in Portuguese, this English language edition provides the opportunity for a wider audience to gain an in-depth appreciation and understanding of the background and meanings of the paintings.

3. East African Doctors. A History of the Modern Profession

John Iliffe

A historical account of the rise and development of the modern medical profession in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya from the 1870s to the present day. This book describes the recruitment and education of doctors, and their understanding and practice of modern medicine. It addresses their struggles, working in conditions of political and economic uncertainty, and search for international recognition; and their contribution to the study and control of HIV/AIDS. John Iliffe has written extensively on colonial and post-colonial history in East Africa and the wider continent.

4. Salutation to the Gut.

Wole Soyinka

As a dramatist, poet, novelist, essayist, political activist and professor, Wole Soyinka is perhaps Africa's most brilliant cultural ambassador and critic, and a notable commentator on world affairs. He is the only black African to have received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Salutation to the Gut js a short essay Soyinka wrote over forty years ago, never previously published. Soyinka celebrates Yoruba culture, gastronomy, hedonism, and poetry; and makes shrewd comparisons with European cultures, citing Jonathan Swift, Dr Johnson, and the classical Greeks, whom he quotes freely, alongside classic Yoruba texts. Soyinka's easy text is characterised by the witty and whimsical style, which would become his hallmark.

5. The Amalgamation and its Enemies. An Interpretive History of Modern Nigeria

Edited by Richard A Olaniyan

Amalgamation has become an ideal - the ideal of Nigerian nationhood. The question however, is whether this ideal is achievable. The thesis of this study is that the political history of the Nigerian state since 1914 has been a story of the struggle between the forces of hegemony, caused by the historical imbalance of the amalgamation of the Northern and Southern protectorates; and the need to promote integration. The contributors discuss how this has resulted in an unrelenting struggle between the threat of disintegration on the one hand, and advocacy of constitutional remodelling to achieve a more cohesive federation, on the other.

6. Yaa Asantewaa and the Ashanti-British War of 1900-1901

Albert A. Adu Boahen

At the end of the nineteenth century, British rule on the Gold Coast was becoming ever more expansionist and aggressive. As the age of European imperialism was intensifying and the Europeans were seeking to control all major trading routes, the idea of an independent and prosperous indigenous Asante ruler was becoming incongruous. In 1896, the British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, authorised a military expedition to Asante. Little resistance was at first encountered, but four years later, when the British exiled the Asante ruler, Prempeh I, and claimed the Golden Stool of Asante, Yaa Asantewaa, the Queen mother, raised the banner of rebellion. Calling the Asante people to reassert their independence she led the deeply aggrieved Asante nation to take up arms, resulting in the Ashanti-British war. This is a scholarly and in-depth account of the causes and outcomes of the war, and the role of the iconic Ashanti war heroine, Yaa Asantewaa, in wider historical context.

7. God's Medicine-Men & Other Stories

Tanure Ojaide

These ten short stories, of varying length, intensity and focus, are the first by Ojaide published in the genre. The title story concerns the spiritual and sexual illusions, confusions and realities to which a young Nigerian girl, the daughter of a pastor, and the people in her milieu, are subjected. In a story entitled 'I Used to Drive a Mercedes', the author satirises the life military general, Alfred, and his materialistic and glamour-seeking wife. He juxtaposes the wealth and position of Alfred's youth and the pinnacle of his achievements: the purchase of a Mercedes; with the dishevelled madness of his old age: by which time his car has been destroyed and his wife has left him. Another story, 'The Book Case' is about a well-educated and vivacious woman's efforts to publish a groundbreaking book. In what becomes an all-consuming struggle, she ends up paying for her ambition with her life, and only achieves recognition posthumously.

8. The Official Wife

Mary Karooro Okurut

Liz is locked in a meaningless, loveless marriage with a (modern-day) polygamous husband. The second wife, apparently an educated and independent woman, becomes her competitor, and intimacy or tenderness with her husband becomes impossible for her. The author tells the story in a laconic style, and with sharp humour, making observations and criticisms about women's experiences of traditional and modern day marriage and polygamy in Africa, as well as her culture's uncritical reception of Western ways. This is a new novel from one of Uganda's most prolific writers and critics.

9. Debt Relief Initiatives and Poverty Alleviation. Lessons from Africa

Edited by Munyae Mulinge & Pempelani Mufune

A multi-contributor work on the vast subject of debt and debt relief in Africa; the focus of the book being the welfare implications of debt, and its impact on the poorest and most vulnerable, and on future generations. The volume presents a pan-African perspective, giving an overview of the 'African debt dilemma', causes, effects and policy options. It presents "case studies on virtually all the southern, central-southern, and east African countries, and comparative studies on debt and poverty alleviation in sub-Saharan Africa in general, and in the SADC region in particular. An entire section is devoted to theoretical perspectives, covering topics such as debt forgiveness initiatives and poverty alleviation; debt, poverty, compliance and the classics of regression; the urbanisation of poverty, and dichotomous poverty alleviation strategies; and population variables. Useful statistics are additionally provided on African economies and Africa's resources.

10. Higher Education Reforms in Africa. The University of Dar es Salaam Experience

Matthew L. Luhanga, Daniel J. Mkude, Tolly S.A., Mbwette et.al.

The purposes of this publication are to record the experiences of the University of Dar es Salaam's reform programmes initiated in the early 1990s; and to present information and the positive aspects of the reform programmes to other African universities or other institutions of higher education in developing countries, so that they may pursue their own programmes without re-inventing the wheel. Chapters cover: the university in the contexts of higher education delivery in the world, in developing countries, in Africa, and in Tanzania; the historical development of the university up until the time of the reforms; an account and evaluation of how the institutional transformation process began and what it achieved; principles and parameters that might account for the relative success of the reforms; and lessons to be learned. The book also includes sample questionnaires and notes from interviews with four Vice Chancellors of the University and student leaders.

11. 'Strategic Planning and Higher Education Management in Africa. The University of Dar es Salaam Experience

Matthew L. Luhanga, Daniel J. Mkude, Tolly S.A. Mbwette et al.

This study aims to identify the core problems facing African universities and to examine the potential role of strategic planning in addressing them. It reviews global, regional and national development trends in higher education, and identifies problems within the areas of human resources, organisational culture, physical resources, municipal services, governance, financial resources, and quality and quantity of academic and professional outputs. The authors then provide examples from the University of Dar es Salaam's experience and transition programmes to demonstrate how the adoption of a strategic planning and management culture can address the principal common areas of concern.

12. The Relationship between Gender Roles and HIV Infection in Namibia

Scholastika Lipinge, Kathe Hofnie & Steve Friedman

In Africa, women are physiologically, socially and economically more vulnerable to the impacts of HIV / AIDS than men, many analysts now arguing that AIDS is a 'gender based disease'. This study explores the cultural practices in Namibia, and the gender aspects of these practices, which exacerbate the spread of HIV. It examines the increasing HIV rates within a wider context of gender analysis, and the impacts of HIV on women, particularly on those who do not have means of economic support; and suggests some gender-based responses to the pandemic.

13. Conversing with Africa. Politics of Change

Mukoma wa Ngugi

The narrative of this book is an effort to engage the past for the present, to stand witness to present times, and to communicate the need to restore a radical dialogue in Africa. The author speaks to a new generation of activists who are trying to answer Fanon's call that "Each generation must out of relative obscurity find its mission -fulfil it, or betray it". He reflects on ways to approach this statement today, arguing for example that it is important to situate African struggles in the context of other struggles especially those of Latin America. He examines the Chinese, Russian, Grenadian, and the Haitian revolutions; the examples of Burkina Faso's Thomas Sankara, the ANC of South Africa, the negotiated political settlement and how the South African example falls far from the ideal of revolutionary democracy. The book further addresses the twin questions of history and the role of the intellectual in society; African intellectuals and Western Africanists; African philosophy as a tool of liberation; the consciousness of the oppressor and the oppressed, the complicity of Africans in their own unfortunate history; and the future of a radical pan-Africanism.