Böcker av Robert H. Bates

Following independence, most countries in Africa sought to develop, but their governments pursued policies that actually undermined their rural economies. Examining the origins of Africa's "e;growth tragedy,"e; Markets and States in Tropical Africa has for decades shaped the thinking of practitioners and scholars alike. Robert H. Bates's analysis now faces a challenge, however: the revival of economic growth on the continent. In this edition, Bates provides a new preface and chapter that address the seeds of Africa's recovery and discuss the significance of the continent's success for the arguments of this classic work.

Includes essays that represent a dialogue between theory and data. This volume extends the methods of reasoning developed in collective choice from their original base - the advanced industrial democracies - to different territory; the literature on rural Africa.

In the later decades of the twentieth century, Africa plunged into political chaos. States failed, governments became predators, and citizens took up arms. In When Things Fell Apart, Robert H. Bates advances an exploration of state failure in Africa. In so doing, he not only plumbs the depths of the continent's late-century tragedy, but also the logic of political order and the foundations of the state. This book covers a wide range of territory by drawing on materials from Rwanda, Sudan, Liberia, and Congo. A must-read for scholars and policy makers concerned with political conflict and state failure.

This book addresses several of the classic questions in African Studies. In answering these questions, the book explores various forms of explanation and advances a form of political economy based upon rational-choice analysis.