Governance and Leadership in Africa

Robert I. Rotberg

Sep 2014 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Many of the problems in Africa today, including widespread poverty and civil unrest, can be traced to the continents legacy of bad governance. In the post-independence period, authoritarian strongmen took control of many countries, enriching themselves and their cronies by exploiting the peoples labor and their countrys resources. In recent years, however, a growing number of African states have embraced democratic principles and established transparent and open governments. In this book the noted Africa scholar Dr. Robert Rotberg examines the current state of governance and leadership in Africa. He discusses the various types of government found in the continent, clearly showing the correlation between the quality of a countrys leadership and the quality of life enjoyed by that countrys people.

About the author

Robert Irwin Rotberg (born April 11, 1935) is an American who served as President emeritus of the World Peace Foundation (1993-2010). An American professor in governance and foreign affairs, he was director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict, Conflict Prevention, and Conflict Resolution at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government (1999-2010), and has served in administrative positions at Tufts University and Lafayette College. In 2003-2004, he served as a member of the Secretary of State's Advisory Panel on Africa, and was a Presidential appointee to the Council of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2013 Rotberg became the Fulbright Research Chair in Political Development at the Balsillie School of International Affairs in Waterloo, Canada. Rotberg attened Oberlin College for his undergraduate degree. He completed his graduate studies at Princeton University, and obtained his doctorate at St Antony's College, Oxford University while on a Rhodes Scholarship. He is the author of many books on US foreign policy. These include: Transformative Political Leadership: Making a Difference in the Developing World (2012); Governance and Leadership in Africa (2007); When States Fail: Causes and Consequences (2004); Truth v. Justice: The Morality of Truth Commissions (2000); and From Massacres to Genocide: The Media, Public Policy and Humanitarian Crises (1996).