Africa and Globalization Challenges of Governance and Creativity

This book considers the promises and challenges of globalization for Africa. Why have African states been perennially unable to diversify their economies and move beyond export of primary produce, even as Southeast Asia has made a tremendous leap into manufacturing? What institutional impediments are in play in African states? What reforms would mitigate the negative effects of globalization and distribute its benefits more equitably? Covering critical themes such as political leadership, security challenges, the creative sector, and community life, essays in this volume argue that the starting point for Africa’s meaningful engagement with the rest of the world must be to look inward, examine Africa’s institutions, and work towards reforms that promote inclusiveness and stability.

1. Introduction: Africa in a Globalized World.- I. Africa's Adaptation to Globalization.- 2. The Rediscovery of Africa.- 3. Globalization and the Creative Space in Africa: Implications for Governance and Development.- 4. Postcolonial Africa's Development Trajectories.- 5. Collective Social Action: Enlightenment Ethic and the Rise of Modern Individualism.- 6. Same Migrants, Two Business Models: Culture-centered and Non-traditional Businesses Established by Ethiopians and Eritreans in Washington D.C.- 7. Making Sense of South Africa's Soft Power: Projections, Prospects, and Possibilities.- II. Governance and Creativity.- 8. Developmental Strategies and Cultural Dynamics in Rural Nigeria.- 9. The Impossible Craft of Nation-Building in Postcolonial Cameroon.- 10. Creativity and New Technologies: Piracy, Politics, and the Business of Cultural Production in Nigeria.- 11. Igbo Community Policing and its Relevance for Contemporary Nigeria.- 12. "Come and Chop": Representations of the Parliamentarian in Ola Rotimi's If and Emeka Nwabueze's A Parliament of Vultures.