Political Leadership in Africa: Leaders and Development South of the Sahara

Do political leaders matter for development in Africa? Political leaders south of the Sahara have taken centre stage since countries in the region gained independence in the 1960s, yet a 'leadership trap' soon emerged with power-holders overstaying in office and chronic instability caused by coups resulting in decades of disappointing developmental performances. The beginnings of change are found in political reforms of the early 1990s, with many sub-Saharan countries introducing multiparty elections and an increasingly regular succession of leaders. But what impact did the new mechanisms for selecting leaders have on the political stabilization of African states, on the growth of their economies, and on the welfare of ordinary citizens? Drawing on a new dataset called the Africa Leadership Change (ALC), this innovative analysis of political leadership in Africa investigates the distinct leadership dynamics of development processes across the region from 1960 to 2018, revealing how, as Africa began to change its leaders and the way they reach power, these new leaders themselves began to change Africa.

Author: Giovanni Carbone, Alessandro Pellegata
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 03/19/2020
Pages: 390
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 8.80h x 6.50w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9781108438315


Review Citation(s):
Choice 10/01/2021

About the Author
Carbone, Giovanni: - Giovanni Carbone is Professor of Political Science at the Università degli Studi di Milano and Head of the Africa Programme at ISPI (Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale). His research focuses on the comparative study of politics, geopolitics and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa. He has been the Principal Investigator of a European Research Council (ERC) funded research project and is the author of articles in journals including Governance, Journal of Development Studies and Journal of Modern African Studies.Pellegata, Alessandro: - Alessandro Pellegata is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the Università degli Studi di Milano where his research is based within the field of comparative politics. He is the author of several articles in journals including European Political Science Review and Journal of European Public Policy. In 2011 he was awarded the Santoro Prize for the best paper presented by a young scholar at the Società Italiana di Scienza Politica (SISP) Annual Congress.