"This new updated edition provides comprehensive coverage of Africa's contemporary politics and is set in a clear historical context, with a wealth of illustrative material and broad-ranging examples. Each chapter has been thoroughly revised to take account of recent developments and recent research, with a new chapter added on 'Political Liberalisation and Economic Reform'. The author provides extra coverage of both North and South Africa and of such key issues as debt, the AIDS epidemic, the position of women and the politics of patronage."--BOOK JACKET.