ABSTRACT
Africa, like other third world regions, has experienced and continues to experience political changes of monumental proportions. Monumental, not in terms of the drastic restructuring of socio-economic and political spaces, but in the introduction of new forms of politics with potential for 'political deepening.' The political elites responded in different ways. Some resisted the calls for democracy and tried to discredit the opposition. Others made concessions but tried to manage the concessions in such a way that the old order would survive intact and continue to monopolize the supply of legislation. In Malawi and Zambia opposition forces succeeded in altering the leadership. In Algeria, the military terminated the rapid political rise of the Islamic Salvation Front. In Kenya, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Togo, the old order survived all pressures. The international system itself has let Africa down significantly.
