Using examples and case studies drawn from different parts of tropical Africa, the book investigates both theoretically and in considerable empirical detail a range of key issues and institutions in the government and politics of African states. The book has been revised throughout for the second edition and its scope has been extended to cover the domestic and international politics of South Africa and the recent trend away from socialist strategies of development in favour of the market economy and democratic pluralism. Reviewing the first edition in Third World Quarterly, Barry Munslow wrote: 'A careful and thorough treatment...this text is likely to become a standard work of reference for many years.' ...'a reliable and comprehensive guide to political structures, institutions, ideologies and pressures and throughout the whole continent.