The revolutionary political upheavals in Africa in the early 1990s continue to have an impact almost two decades later. This book argues we must look to the defining period of transition to understand how politics in these countries changed since the fall of dictatorial one-party states.

Published since 1928, the Political Handbook of the World provides timely, thorough, and accurate political information with more in-depth coverage of current political controversies and political parties than any other reference guide. The updated 2016–2017 Edition continues this legacy as the most authoritative source for finding complete facts and analysis on each country’s governmental and political makeup. Political science and international relations scholars have revised this edition, and made understanding complex foreign affairs andpolitical situations easy and accessible. With more than 200 entries on countries and territories throughout the world, housed in one place, these volumes are renowned for their extensive coverage of all major and minor political parties and groups in each political system. They also provide names of key ambassadors and international memberships of each country, plus detailed profiles of more than 30 intergovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies. This comprehensive update will include coverage of current events, issues, crises, and controversies from the course of the last two years, including: The closely-watched U.S. presidential election The effect of the Brexit referendum and installment of a new British prime minister The extensive investigation and subsequent impeachment of Brazil’s president The far-reaching impact of the “Panama Papers” scandal Changes in U.S.–Cuba diplomatic relations and the reopening of their embassies The unconstitutional declaration of Gambia as an Islamic State Sentiments about the migrant and refugee crisis across Europe and the influence on policy Also, the new “For Further Reference” feature included for every country entry directs readers to additional resources to continue their research.

The 2010’s was a critical period in the continuing, established trend of the spread of democracy worldwide: from the Arab Spring countries of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen to the unfolding turmoil of Myanmar and Ukraine, by way of the upheavals in Burkina Faso, Senegal and Ivory Coast, social mobilisation against autocratic, corrupt, or military regimes has precipitated political transitions that are characteristic of "democratisation." This book examines the state of democratisation theory and practice that reopens and revives the democratic transition debate, exploring the factors that lead to the demise of autocracy, the pathways and processes of change, and the choice for an eventual consolidation of democracy. For all its insights and shortcomings, the framework of transitology – a body of literature that has comparatively and through case-study analysis, examined common patterns, sequences, crises and outcomes of transitional periods – has been largely eschewed. The essays, written by international democratisation specialists, tackle the series of questions raised by a body of literature that remains highly useful to understand contemporary political turbulence and transformation, considering numerous crucial issues. This work will be of key interest to scholars, students and practitioners of governance, democratisation, comparative politics, international relations, political science and more broadly, history.

From Poland 1980-89 to Algeria 2019 we can identify seven "waves" where massive civil society mobilization has successfully challenged the ruling regimes. These changes have mainly been done outside the accepted constitutional processes and civil society actors have been central driving forces. In this booklet we have taken a closer look at Benin and the changes in 1989-90. Our hope is to inspire students and colleagues to do more research on less studied unarmed regime changes. Only by studying and evaluating the experiences of the past can we better understand and help future generations in similar situations.

This book provides a concise and comprehensive description of all of the borders of every country in the contemporary world, including physical boundaries, their historical evolution, and border-related conflicts with other countries. Nation Shapes: The Story behind the World's Borders examines the importance of country boundaries, the disconnects between these borders, related factors such as cultures, religions, and economies, and how conflicts over boundaries between neighboring countries are articulated. The book is organized geographically and by region of the world: the Americas, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, East and Southeast Asia, and Australia and Oceania. It provides comprehensive descriptions of the boundaries of each country in the world, the historical evolution of these boundaries, and current and potential future boundary disputes and conflicts. While the work contains an entry for each country, the emphasis is on countries of major importance in the modern global economy.

Demonstrates the importance of the first interim governments in shaping the trajectory of political transition in Tunisia and Libya after the 2011 uprisings.

Representing a unique reference tool for readers interested in history, criminology, or terrorism, this book provides the most complete and up-to-date coverage of assassinations of key figures throughout history and around the world. Effecting the death of a political figure, a leader of a nation, or a public figure usually captures people's attention. But how often is assassination effective to achieve the larger objective beyond the death of the targeted individual? Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia offers more than 200 entries on assassinations of all kinds that will allow readers to grasp the often-complex motivating factors behind each event and better understand historical and contemporary social unrest. Each entry identifies the assassination target and summarizes that person's significance; discusses the person's assassination, including the factors that led up to it and its political and cultural contexts; and explains the powerful effects of the assassination in world history. The encyclopedia also includes various sidebars that spotlight relevant individuals, groups, and movements and present intriguing factoids such as the final disposition of notorious assassins' weapons and various films and novels that were inspired by famous assassinations. In addition, 23 primary source documents provide accounts of assassinations throughout world history.

Togo’s history from precolonial times to the present is one of a struggle for identity and leadership. A territory relatively untouched by neighboring pre-colonial empires was colonized by both the Germans and the French, and even before independence Togo was shaped by the struggle for political control by prominent families. Since the 1990s, widespread political movements have striven to unseat the ruling Gnassingbé family, in power for more than 50 years, only to be repressed by the military or thwarted at the ballot box. Economically more prosperous compared to many of the other countries in the West African region, Togo has diversified its economy from an early dependence on phosphates, and has navigated trade and foreign relations remarkably well for a country of only 7 million people, with a territory less than a quarter the size of neighboring Ghana. With at least 30 ethnic groups and wide array of languages, religions and cultural traditions, Togo is representative of the rich diversity of contemporary Africa, and a vibrant illustration of the dual quest for development and democracy that characterizes the West African region. The fourth edition of Historical Dictionary of Togo contains a chronology, an introduction, an extensive bibliography, and a dictionary section has over 1,000 cross-referenced dictionary entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Togo.

First comprehensive analysis of electoral politics in Sub-Saharan Africa since the democratic transitions of the early 1990s.

The book investigates the use of bottom-up, community based healing and peacebuilding approaches, focusing on their strengths and suggesting how they can be enhanced. The main contribution of the book is an ethnographic investigation of how post-conflict communities in parts of Southern Africa use their local resources to forge a future after mass violence. The way in which Namibia’s Herero and Zimbabwe’s Ndebele dealt with their respective genocides is a major contribution of the book. The focus of the book is on two Southern African countries that never experienced institutionalized transitional justice as dispensed in post-apartheid South Africa via the famed Truth and Reconciliation Commission. We answer the question: how have communities healed and reconciled after the end of protracted violence and gross human rights abuses in Zimbabwe and Namibia? We depart from statetist, top-down, one-size fits all approaches to transitional justice and investigate bottom-up approaches.