Beyond State Crisis?: Post-colonial Africa And Post-soviet Eurasia In Comparative Perspective (woodrow Wilson Center Press)

Washington, D.C., Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2002. — 539 p.Beyond State Crisis? Postcolonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia in Comparative Perspective studies two regions beset with extreme corruption, organized crime extending into warlordism, the disintegration of human services and economic institutions, and the breakdown of state after state.The book examines state breakdown, democratization, economic reform, ethnicity, and the status of women, and it compares the consequences of postcommunism and postcolonialism. The contributors, representing fields such as political science, international relations, and sociology, come from the United States, Russia, Georgia, Sudan, and South Africa. List of Tables.Acknowledgments.**Overview and Retrospective**.Introduction: Comparing State Crises across Two Continents.__Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young__.Convergence to Crisis: Pre-Independence State Legacies and Post- Independence State Breakdown in Africa and Eurasia.__Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young__.**Sovereignty, Violence, and War**.At the Edge of the World: Boundaries, Territoriality, and Sovereignty in Africa.__Achille Mbembe__.Who Is Strong When the State Is Weak? Violent Entrepreneurship in Russia's Emerging Markets.__Vadim Volkov__.Mafiya Troubles, Warlord Crises.__William Reno__.Weak States and Private Armies.__Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr.__.Civil Wars and State-Building in Africa and Eurasia.__David Holloway and Stephen John Stedman__.The Effects of State Crisis on African Interstate Relations (and Comparisons with Post-Soviet Eurasia).__Donald Rothchild__.**Democratization and Political Economy**.Russia: Unconsolidated Democracy, Creeping Authoritarianism, or Unresolved Stagnation?__Lilia Shevtsova__.War, State-Making, and Democracy in Africa.__Richard Joseph__.The East Goes South: International Aid and the Production of Convergence in Africa and Eurasia.__Peter J. Stavrakis__.Economic Reform and the Discourse of Democracy in Africa: Resolving the Contradictions.__Peter M. Lewis__.**State and Society**.Ethnicity and State-Building: Accommodating Ethnic Differences in Post-Soviet Eurasia.__Gail W. Lapidus__.Beyond Cultural Domination: Institutionalizing Equity in the African State.Francis M. Deng.Women and Political Change in Post-Soviet Eurasia and Postcolonial Africa.__Aili Mari Tripp__.**Beyond State Crisis?**.Putting the State Back Together in Post-Soviet Georgia.__Ghia Nodia__.After the Fall: State Rehabilitation in Uganda.__Crawford Young__.The Effective State in Postcolonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia: Hopeless Chimera or Possible Dream?__Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young__.Contributors.Index. Washington, D.C., Woodrow Wilson Center Press, 2002. — 539 p. Beyond State Crisis? Postcolonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia in Comparative Perspective studies two regions beset with extreme corruption, organized crime extending into warlordism, the disintegration of human services and economic institutions, and the breakdown of state after state. The book examines state breakdown, democratization, economic reform, ethnicity, and the status of women, and it compares the consequences of postcommunism and postcolonialism. The contributors, representing fields such as political science, international relations, and sociology, come from the United States, Russia, Georgia, Sudan, and South Africa. List of Tables. Acknowledgments. Overview and Retrospective . Introduction: Comparing State Crises across Two Continents. Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young . Convergence to Crisis: Pre-Independence State Legacies and Post- Independence State Breakdown in Africa and Eurasia. Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young . Sovereignty, Violence, and War . At the Edge of the World: Boundaries, Territoriality, and Sovereignty in Africa. Achille Mbembe . Who Is Strong When the State Is Weak? Violent Entrepreneurship in Russia's Emerging Markets. Vadim Volkov . Mafiya Troubles, Warlord Crises. William Reno . Weak States and Private Armies. Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. . Civil Wars and State-Building in Africa and Eurasia. David Holloway and Stephen John Stedman . The Effects of State Crisis on African Interstate Relations (and Comparisons with Post-Soviet Eurasia). Donald Rothchild . Democratization and Political Economy . Russia: Unconsolidated Democracy, Creeping Authoritarianism, or Unresolved Stagnation? Lilia Shevtsova . War, State-Making, and Democracy in Africa. Richard Joseph . The East Goes South: International Aid and the Production of Convergence in Africa and Eurasia. Peter J. Stavrakis . Economic Reform and the Discourse of Democracy in Africa: Resolving the Contradictions. Peter M. Lewis . State and Society . Ethnicity and State-Building: Accommodating Ethnic Differences in Post-Soviet Eurasia. Gail W. Lapidus . Beyond Cultural Domination: Institutionalizing Equity in the African State. Francis M. Deng. Women and Political Change in Post-Soviet Eurasia and Postcolonial Africa. Aili Mari Tripp . Beyond State Crisis? . Putting the State Back Together in Post-Soviet Georgia. Ghia Nodia . After the Fall: State Rehabilitation in Uganda. Crawford Young . The Effective State in Postcolonial Africa and Post-Soviet Eurasia: Hopeless Chimera or Possible Dream? Mark R. Beissinger and Crawford Young . Contributors. Index.

This book compares sub-Saharan Africa and the former Soviet Union, two regions beset by the breakdown of states suffering from extreme official corruption, organized crime extending into warlordism, and the disintegration of economic institutions and public institutions for human services. The contributors not only study state breakdown but also compare the consequences of post-communism with those of post-colonialism.

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Several years of planning led to an international conference in March 1999 in Madison, Wisconsin, from which the 18 papers have been selected. Comparing the state crises that have engulfed the two regions, they consider their origins, similarities and differences, how they interact with interstate relations and global processes of change, the effect on salient social divisions, and potential pathways out of crisis. Distributed in the US by Johns Hopkins University Press. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Comparing State Crises Across Two Continents / Mark R. Beissinger And Crawford Young -- Convergence To Crisis : Pre-independence State Legacies And Post-independence State Breakdown In Africa And Eurasia / Mark R. Beissinger And Crawford Young -- At The Edge Of The World : Boundaries, Territoriality, And Sovereignty In Africa / Achille Mbembe -- Mafiya Troubles, Warlord Crises / William Reno -- Weak State And Private Armies / Charles H. Fairbanks, Jr. -- Civil Wars And State-building In Africa And Eurasia / David Holloway And Stephen John Stedman -- The Effects Of State Crisis On African Interstate Relations / Donald Rothchild. Edited By Mark R. Beissinger And Crawford Young. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. In the long trail between conception and completion of this book, the editors have accumulated many debts.