From Economic Crisis to Political Liberalization: Pitfalls of the New Political Sociology of Africa
Author(s)
Eyoh, Dickson
Abstract
Recent North American research into the political organization of Africa has been dominated by a research paradigm, identified as the “New Political Sociology for Africa” (NPSA), which betrays an over-reliance on a Western liberal model of political development tied to economic restructuring. This model fails to assign sufficient weight to aspects of culture and social class in the process of political development and oversimplifies the complexities operating in African societies. The NPSA model does not serve Africa well because it designates Western solutions for particularly African problems.
