Globalization in Africa

Reviews / Votes

This is a rich and timely collection of essays that examine how Africa is coming to terms with the challenges of globalization. It illuminates in bold relief the theory and empiricism of globalization in Africa from the perspectives of development, security, and environment. The contributors to this volume have delivered powerful and refreshing analyses of a highly dynamic and controversial phenomenon in Africa. -- Isaac Albert, University of Ibadan With the consistent trend in Democratic reversals-as in Eastern and Central Africa, the resurgence and deepening of economic and financial crises in most African countries, alarming environmental degradation and neglect, and the phenomenal rates of unemployment in the face of remarkable economic growth, with a sharp focus and nuanced methodology, this book pointedly speaks to some of the core issues critical to any meaningful engagements with, and the resolution of the contradictions of democracy, development, environment and security in Africa. It is not only a must- read for students and scholars of globalization and Africa: it is a collector's item! -- Shuaibu A. Ibrahim, President of the Nigerian Political Science Association This edited volume fills a significant intellectual void in the theoretical and practical discourses on globalization by profoundly capturing the African voices. The 20 chapter contributions of the book and the eloquent forward by the renowned Professor Alfred Zack-Williams have brilliantly elucidated the conceptual debates on globalization from African perspectives, the protracted history of the phenomenon on the African continent, and how globalization has impacted development, governance, peace and security in Africa. This book is path-breaking and I consider it a must read for all students, policy makers, researchers and lecturers interested in understanding how historical and contemporary forces, agencies and processes of transnationalization have impacted Africa, as well as what Africa and African agencies could do to maximize the advantages of globalization and minimize its negative externalities. -- Kenneth Omeje, University of Johannesburg Globalization in Africa: Perspectives on Development, Security, andEnvironment fills a long-standing need in the literature for a historically anchored, culturally sensitive, and yet analytically balanced non-Western approach to globalization. Although all the essays in this smartly edited collection approach globalization from a distinctly 'Southern' perspective, this does not, as is sometimes the case, lead to a dilution of critical judgment. On the contrary, the contributors, working with conceptual and methodological tools from across the social sciences, interpret classic and emergent themes in African development with the aid of thoughtful and innovative theoretical standards. The overall result is an important collection that promises to be of continued interest to graduate students and scholars of African history and African social thought, development experts, policy makers, and theorists and historians of globalization across the world. -- Ebenezer Obadare, University of Kansas