Towards a New Map of Africa

Description

'The big, era-defining questions and, at last, the subtle, tenable answers, teased out without clichi? or compromise. A vital volume at a critical moment.' Dr Augustus Casely-Hayford, Director, Africa '05 'This book dispels the myth of a uniformly hopeless, hungry continent. It shows just howi? extraordinarily diverse Africa isi? and how much iti? has changed in the last 20 years.i? Full of fresh thinking oni? problems that face Africa and new African approaches to development.' Richard Dowden, Director, Royal African Society This ground-breaking book, with a foreword by former President of Ireland (1990i? 1997) and UN Human Rights Commissioner (1997i? 2002) Mary Robinson, uniquely distils the complex issues surrounding Africa at the beginning of the 21st century. African and Western scholars provide a fascinating 'map' for the reader to navigate between issues such as urban and rural livelihoods, the potential of fresh water fishing, health, the HIV/AIDS crisis, conflict and efforts at peacemaking. Also included are critical assessments of Africa's role in the global economy, the growth of regional economic cooperation within Africa, the influence of ethnicity on the continent's politics, the evolution of its political institutions, and the impact of Africa's legal systems on its development. A substantial introductory essay by the editors measures the distance Africa has travelled and the lessons it has learned since Africa in Crisis, the classic Earthscan book, was published in 1985. Ben Wisner is visiting research fellow at DESTIN, London School of Economics and at Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College London, and visiting professor of environmental studies, Oberlin College, USA. Camilla Toulmin is Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development. Rutendo Chitiga is a freelance writer and editor, and has a postgraduate degree in environment and development.

Ben Wisner is visiting research fellow at DESTIN, London School of Economics and at Benfield Hazard Research Centre, University College London, and visiting professor of environmental studies, Oberlin College, USA. Camilla Toulmin is Director of the International Institute for Environment and Development. Rutendo Chitiga is a freelance writer and editor and has a postgraduate degree in Environment and Development.

'Towards a New Map of Africa resembles an information-rich thinly illustrated textbook appropriate for an upper-division interdisciplinary course on Africa or development. It has the benefit of being a collaborative effort with diverse voices, including those of several women and authors from the continent.' Heidi G. Frontani and Honglin Xiao, African Studies Review