A review of A Continent for the Taking: The Tragedy and Hope of Africa by Howard W. French.
About the Author
Richard Joseph is John Evans Professor of International History and Politics at Northwestern University. He is the author of Democracy and Prebendal Politics in Nigeria (1987; reissued 2014). He is writing books on post-1975 Nigerian politics and society; and on governance, development, and the state in Africa.
The 1990s began with an unprecedented democratic opening in Francophone Africa. While a number of countries have suffered setbacks and even reversals, others continue to make progress, and popular aspirations…