ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a comprehensive range of views on the historical legacy of the state in Africa within the limited space. It aims to outline what seems to be the consensual view of the parameters and the scope of the problem; and to contextualise the problem within the discourse on its social historicity and against the background of international involvement and interaction. The problem is that while the 'maximalist' approach to democracy can ruin the state itself, the 'minimalist' protectionist approach is not conducive to the evolution of a limited democracy in a more democratic direction. A vast academic literature exists on the state in Africa and on the correlation, or rather on the perceived incompatibility, between the state and democracy. The dismal performance of the state in Africa has always been attributed to the lack of democracy as it is understood by Western schools of thinking.
