Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo

"This book deals with an extremely important, topical, and under-researched issue, namely economic relations between Africa and Japan in general and Japanese foreign economic assistance to Africa in particular. Furthermore, this is a topic on which, to this day, very few African scholars--with the notable exception of Kweku Ampiah and Sunday Agbi--have done any serious research at all."--Guy Martin, Professor of Political Science, Winston-Salem State University, Winston-Salem, NC. Japan-Africa Relations seeks to study the complex nature of the dynamics of power relations between Japan and Africa since the Bandung Conference in 1955 with an emphasis on the period from the 1970s to the present. It examines specificities of the claims of the Japanese state in pursuing these relations and those of the African states' demands as reflected in the African condition. Although the focus is on Japanese economic assistance including technical assistance, grants, and loans, this book is broadly conceived and defined as the study of Japan and Africa and their relations in the world system. It also identifies and analyzes the dominant observable trends of these relations within the world system with comparative illustrations and it considers the policy implications of these trends both in Japan and Africa in relationship to the search for new paradigms for social progress and democracy in Africa and new power location in Japan. --Book Jacket.

The institutional forms and processes of democracy are spreading in Africa as dictatorial regimes have been forced to give way. But democratic form and democratic substance are two different things. Western-derived institutional forms are neither necessarily the most approprate nor the most practical in the current African context, and rooting democratic norms in African political cultures raises socio-cultural questions. This book draws on the experiences of particular African elections and countries to explore the continuing impact of police state apparatuses; the factors influencing voters?