African States: Domestic and External Security Challenges - Paperback

by Abu Bakarr Bah (Editor)

Essays on the security challenges faced by African states.

The central concern that shapes this edited volume is the nature of the African state. Contributors point to an interesting intersection of domestic and external issues that is framed as a glocalized security situation. Individual chapters shed new insights on conflict drivers through case studies on Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, and Somalia, as well as broader issues on the nature of African states. Arguments pivot on three issues, which show the intersection of the domestic and external forces that render the African state as a glocal problem: (a) the colonial roots of the state, (b) problems of governance, and (c) international and regional security imperatives. By problematizing the African state and connecting the security challenges of African states to colonialism, patrimonial rule, and geopolitical security issues, African States brings forth a new way of examining African states through the notion of glocalized security.

Author Biography

Abu Bakarr Bah is Presidential Research Professor of Sociology and Department Chair at Northern Illinois University. He is founding Director of the Institute for Research and Policy Integration in Africa (IRPIA), Editor in Chief of African Conflict and Peacebuilding Review, and African Editor of Critical Sociology.