Petr Skalník Boeken

In Africa the distribution of power and powerlessness seems to be more rigid than on other continents. Political power is in the hands of narrow elites while the overwhelming majority has hardly any access to decision-making. The common denominator of this book is the notion of power. It follows the analytical differentiation between the concept of power-over that is largely used by mainstream political science, and the concept of power as social practice. The authors ask pertinent questions on how power is composed, created and used on the African continent.

This book gives voice to the representatives of various social science disciplines who use the expression 'actor in politics' according to the requirements of their respective approaches. They nevertheless arrive at an interesting and, to a great extent, impressive unity in diversity. What the book shows is the encounter of African actors and their agency with external actors and factors. Another connection uniting the contributions is the fact that they address the impact political actors outside the official or formal domain can and do exert on the respective societies. Informal politics and informal political actors and their entanglement with the official and formal domain of politics are among peculiarities of current African politics. But, informality in politics and entanglement of formal and informal political actors might also hint at the future of politics and political order in general. ( African Studies / Afrikanische Studien - Vol. 51) [ African Studies, Politics]