This revised and expanded second edition of African Politics in Comparative Perspective reviews fifty years of research on politics in Africa and addresses some issues in a new light, keeping in mind the changes in Africa since the first edition was written in 2004. The book synthesizes insights from different scholarly approaches and offers an original interpretation of the knowledge accumulated in the field. Goran Hyden discusses how research on African politics relates to the study of politics in other regions and mainstream theories in comparative politics. He focuses on such key issues as why politics trumps economics, rule is personal, state is weak and policies are made with a communal rather than an individual lens. The book also discusses why in the light of these conditions agriculture is problematic, gender contested, ethnicity manipulated and relations with Western powers a matter of defiance.

Review of the first edition:‘A most useful book that could be assigned for both graduate and undergraduate courses on African politics. Highly recommended.'

Source: Choice

Review of the first edition:‘African Politics in Comparative Perspective avoids the sort of confusing litany of superficial references to cases found in many texts on African politics.'

Amy R. Poteete Source: Canadian Journal of Political Science

Review of the first edition:‘This is a well-developed assessment of important themes in the study of African politics. With one very bold step, Hyden systematically integrates important aspects of the literature on African politics and society into the historically and theoretically rich Eurocentric tradition of state and society, which dominated the field of comparative politics in earlier decades.'

Connie Anthony Source: African Studies Review

‘In this synthetic work pulling together decades worth of scholarship, especially in his discipline of political science, Hyden puts forth his best efforts … Policy makers and journalists who find themselves dropped into Africa without any particular training should place this book on their shelves after reading it closely so that they can refer to it often.'

Derek Catsam - Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa