Political Identity and African Foreign Policies

"A meaningful and welcome contribution to the study of African politics writ large.... The authors provide a cogent portrait of the foreign policies of a diverse set of regimes across the African continent." --Kirk A. Harris, Susquehanna University

Although all African states suffer the same peripheral status in world politics, they display variation in their foreign policies. How can we account for this variation? What role, if any, do the political identities of ruling elites play? Can patterns be seen in personalist vs. one-party dominant vs. multiparty regimes? The authors of Political Identity and African Foreign Policies address these questions, exploring the relationship between identity formation and foreign policy in nine African countries.

CONTENTS: 

• Elite Political Identity and the Genesis of African Foreign Policies--J.F. Clark and P.A. Kowert.
• PERSONALIST REGIMES.
• Congo-Brazzaville: The Sassou Nguesso Mafia--J.F. Clark.
• Rwanda: Small Country, Big Ambitions--E.K.. Damman.
• Sudan: The Impact of Dueling Identities--A. Mohamed.
• ONE-PARTY DOMINANT REGIMES.
• Botswana: Competing Ideologies and BDP Dominance--A.Z. Gapa.
• Ethiopia: When Dominant Narratives Unravel--K. Newbery.
• South Africa: "Rainbow" Identity Under ANC Rule--S.F. Burgess.
• COMPETITIVE MULTIPARTY SYSTEMS.
• Ghana: Continuity Among Democratic Elites--M.B. Nelson.
• Kenya: A Shared National Identity--C.U. Kodero.
• Nigeria: The Absence of National Identity?--E.N. Ubi.
• CONCLUSION.
• Elite Identity and African Foreign Policies: Identifying Patterns--J.F. Clark