Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction. Understanding African politics : bringing the state back in / Nic Cheeseman -- Part I. Institutional foundations. Institutional legacies : understanding multiparty politics in historical perspective / Rachel Beatty Riedl -- Property and land institutions : origins, variations and political effects / Catherine Boone -- Financial institutions : economic liberalisation, credit and opposition party successes / Leonardo R. Arriola -- Part II. Law and order. Constitutions : the politics of constitutional reform / Muna Ndulo -- The police : laws, prosecutions and women's rights in Liberia / Peace A. Medie -- The bureaucracy : policy implementation and reform / M. Anne Pitcher and Manuel P. Teodoro -- Part III. Elections, parties and political competition. Political parties : presidential succession crises and internal party democracy / Ian Cooper -- Elections : the power of elections in multiparty Africa / Carolien van Ham and Staffan I. Lindberg -- Electoral rules : the relationship between political exclusion and conflict / Brian Klaas -- Term limits : leadership, political competition and the transfer of power / Daniel N. Posner and Daniel J. Young -- Part IV. Countervailing institutions. The legislature : institutional strengthening in dominant-party states / Michaela Collord -- The judiciary : courts, judges and the rule of law / Peter VonDoepp -- Decentralisation : accountability in local government / Alex Dyzenhaus -- Conclusion. Political institutions and democracy in Africa : a research agenda / Nic Cheeseman.

"Historically, African political institutions such as constitutions, legislatures and judiciaries have been seen as weak and vulnerable to manipulation, leading some to claim that the continent is 'institutionless'. However, recent developments including the consolidation of presidential term limits in a number of countries demonstrate that this depiction is no longer tenable. By drawing attention to how institutions can shape the practice of politics, this book demonstrates that electoral commissions, economic regulations and systems of land tenure are vital to our understanding of contemporary Africa. A series of cutting-edge contributions from leading scholars explain how the rules of the game shape political developments across the continent, from Kenya to Nigeria and from Benin to South Africa. In chapters that cover bureaucracies, constitutions, elections, political parties, the police and more, the authors argue that a new research agenda is required if we are to better understand the process of democratisation."--