The Politics of Africa's Economic Stagnation (A. Sandbrook<|

The Politics of Africa's Economic StagnationAuthor(s): Richard Sandbrook, Judith Barker\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9780521319614, 978-0521319614\nSynopsis\nAfrican states are not, in any real sense, capitalist states. Elsewhere, the state has played a crucial role in facilitating capitalist expansion, but in postcolonial Africa one finds a form of neopatrimonialism - personal rule - that introduces a variety of economic irrationalities. Productive economic activities are impeded by the political instability, systemic corruption and maladminstration associated with personal rule. In extreme cases, a downward spiral of political-economic decline is set in motion that is difficult to halt and reverse. Is personal rule simply a euphemism for ineptitude and mismanagement? The authors argue that it is not; it operates according to a particular political rationality that shapes a ruler's actions wh.