1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910779241403321

Autore

Young Crawford

Titolo

The African Colonial State in Comparative Perspective / / Crawford Young

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Haven, CT : , : Yale University Press, , [1994]

©1994

ISBN

0-300-16447-5

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (368 p.)

Disciplina

325/.314/096

Soggetti

Colonies - History - Africa

Colonies - History - Administration - Africa

Political Science

Law, Politics & Government

Colonialism & Postcolonialism

Electronic books.

Africa Politics and government

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- List of Tables -- Preface -- 1. Bula Matari and the Contemporary African Crisis -- 2. On the State -- 3. The Nature and Genesis of the Colonial State -- 4. Constructing Bula Matari -- 5. The Colonial State Institutionalized -- 6. Toward African Independence -- 7, The Ambiguous Challenge of Civil Society -- 8, The Imperial Legacy and State Traditions -- 9. The Afterlife of the African Colonial State: Concluding Reflections -- Notes -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

In this comprehensive and original study, a distinguished specialist and scholar of African affairs argues that the current crisis in African development can be traced directly to European colonial rule, which left the continent with a "singularly difficult legacy" that is unique in modern history.Crawford Young proposes a new conception of the state, weighing the different characteristics of earlier European empires (including those of Holland, Portugal, England, and Venice) and distilling their common qualities. He then presents a concise and wide-ranging history of colonization in Africa, from the era of construction



through consolidation and decolonization. Young argues that several qualities combined to make the European colonial experience in Africa distinctive. The high number of nations competing for power around the continent and the necessity to achieve effective occupation swiftly yet make the colonies self-financing drove colonial powers toward policies of "ruthless extractive action." The persistent, virulent racism that established a distance between rulers and subjects was especially central to African colonial history.Young concludes by turning his sights to other regions of the once-colonized world, comparing the fates of former African colonies to their counterparts elsewhere. In tracing both the overarching traits and variations in African colonial states, he makes a strong case that colonialism has played a critical role in shaping the fate of this troubled continent.