This fully updated fifth edition of An Introduction to African Politics is an ideal textbook for those new to the study of this fascinating continent.

Charting trends in government over six decades of the post-colonial era, the book tackles key questions such as: How have African states made sense of their colonial inheritance? How relevant are ethnic and religious identities? Why have some states collapsed and others prospered? Why did the one-party state fail? Why is contemporary Africa now dominated by electoral authoritarian states, and not the multi-party democracies promised in the 1990s?

Key features include:

• thematically organised, with chapters exploring issues such as colonialism, ethnicity, nationalism, religion, social class, ideology, legitimacy, authority, sovereignty and democracy;
• new five-part structure makes clearer Africa's political evolution over time;

• new chapter on the emergence of 'hybrid states' and 'electoral authoritarianism';
• more coverage of twenty-first century governance trends such as China's impact, the changing role of the military, different uses of 'client-patron' networks, Western conditionality and the 'Africa rising' debate;
• colour presentation of maps, photos and data;
• boxed case studies including Mali, Tanzania, Nigeria, Botswana, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, Somalia, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tunisia and Angola;
• each chapter concludes with key terms and definitions, questions and further reading.

An Introduction to African Politics is essential reading for students seeking an accessible introduction to the complex social relationships and events that characterise the politics of post-colonial Africa.

Alex Thomson is an academic with three decades experience of teaching and researching African politics. He is currently a lecturer at Coventry University in the United Kingdom.