ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts covered in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses the construction and imposition of rules, procedures and behaviour in African politics. Questioning the use of neopatrimonialism as an overall concept for the understanding of politics and economics in Africa, Ole Therkildsen searches for a more differentiated neopatrimonialism concept. In his contribution 'History, Identity and Collective Action: Difficulties of Accountability', Tim Kelsall offers a critical reading of informality. Three emerging spheres of action and authority are to the fore: violent conflicts, HIV/AIDS and urban governance. Andreas Mehler and Ulf Engel argue that violent conflict in sub-Saharan Africa has produced new forms of governance which have found spatial expressions beyond the state. Nana K. Poku and Jane Freedman discuss the scale of Africa's HIV/AIDS crisis and the challenges this crisis poses to governance in Africa.
