Theorizing in Comparative Politics

Reviews / Votes

'Hyden brings six decades of wide-ranging research, teaching, and reflection on African politics to this new volume. He revisits the first wave of political development research in the 1960s and connects this to the study of democratization in the 1990s and 2000s. Hyden reworks several leitmotifs of his most impactful contributions to the field, questioning the inevitability of democracy in the Western mould and calling for new ways of conceptualizing political development in African countries. A reflective and humane account.' Catherine Boone, Professor of Comparative Politics, London School of Economics 'Goran Hyden has offered keen insight into African politics for decades. This retrospective speaks more broadly to the field of comparative politics from a place of deeply informed perspective, providing a welcome reminder of the ongoing need to balance generality with context. Comparativists will be the better for reading it.' Benjamin Smith, UF Term Professor of Political Science, University of Florida 'Hyden's book provides a trenchant, non-statistical approach to contemporary African politics - a worthy summation of a distinguished career ... Highly recommended. C. E. Welch, CHOICE 'The book is written with pace, wit, and authority, the author bringing to bear a lifetime of reflection and publishing on the issues under study ... an ambitious, accessible, and thought-provoking book which will be important reading for students of African politics, and Comparative Politics more generally, and will no doubt be an essential reference point for both graduate and undergraduate course convenors on these topics.' Jonathan Fisher, Perspectives on Politics