ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the tensions between the African state and democracy, outlining the scope of the problem and contextualising it within the discourse of social historicity and against the background of international involvement. It explains sources from an attempt to understand African history and relate the state to the historical context. The book argues that 'a constitutional approach' can have many faces. Moreover, a renaissance, even if contained in 'constitutional changes' can be very broad. The book provides 'reading' of broader international conditions within which states and sub-systemic units must deal with the complex problems related to democratic consolidation amidst the 'tendency to globalise'. It also argues that the potential of decentralisation to end in ungovernability and the potential of centralisation of state delivery to end in the ignorance of the needs of communities should be key concerns.