The book is intended primarily to provide a critical introduction to large and controversial issues. Few of the questions it poses can yet be answered with any confidence since no primary sources are open after the mid-1950s and insufficient research has yet been published on economic...

The complexities of African development -- Part 1: Historical and political context -- The colonial legacy -- Big men, personal rule, and patronage politics -- Party systems and democratic trajectories -- Conflict, war, and state fragility -- Part 2: Core development questions -- Growth and...