Crises of Governance in Asia and Africa

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Given the changes in international divisions of labour and power associated with globalization, this text investigates the relations between ethnicity and governance in Asia and Africa. This set of original, carefully-edited case studies compares and contrasts issues arising from the impact of the changing political economy on ethnicity, and the effects of ethnic group politics on economic growth and forms and practices of governance. The broad political economy approach to analysis extends the debates on ethnicity and governance well beyond traditional and orthodox treatments, making this volume not only a stimulating text, but also an invaluable tool for original and innovative research.

SYNOPSIS

Arguing that the revival of ethnicity and other forms of identity as the unifying principle for political struggle is a worldwide phenomenon, an interdisciplinary group of scholars present 14 essays that examine the interrelationship of ethnicity and governance in Malaysia, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Angola, Uganda, Sri Lanka, and other African and Asian countries. The authors view the process of globalization as being of particular relevance to the growth of ethnic conflict and suggest that previous scholarship on ethnicity has failed to understand globalization's import. Specific topics include the role of gender-based NGOs and information networks in India, the process of industrialization in Malaysia, state-society relations in Zimbabwe, and the impact of overseas development assistance in Sri Lanka.