Scott D. Taylor is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is author of Business and the State in Southern Africa and Politics in Southern Africa: State and Society in Transition.

"Spanning many disciplines and referenced with endnotes and bibliography, this volume should be in any library with collections on African studies. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"Taylor's key arguments can briefly be expressed as follows: there is more than one kind of African business culture, and African businesses are both more various and healthier than we may have imagined. He provides a clear-eyed review of the current state of business on the course, steering a careful course between a hopeless and over-determined Afropessimism, and a giddy, reckless boisterism about its prospects. Nonetheless, his tone remains refreshingly upbeat and pragmatic."—Journal of Modern African Studies"Many African countries have experienced basic shifts in the 'culture of business,' allowing for diversification, expansion, and more outward-looking strategies by firms. This is a provocative argument that challenges conventional wisdom in academic and policy circles."—Peter Lewis, Johns Hopkins University

• PrefacePart I. Introduction and BackgroundIntroduction1. African Business and Capitalism in Historical PerspectivePart II. Globalization and Political and Economic Transformation2. Institutional Change in the 1990s: Economic and Political Reform3. Business, the African State and Globalization in the New Millennium: Transnational Influences and Domestic Responses Part III. The Diversity of African Business: Problems and Prospects4. Foreign Investment Beyond Compradorism & Primary Commodities: The Role of the Global South5. From Patrimonialism to Profit? The Transformation of Crony Capitalists and Bureaucratic Bourgeoisies6. Going Continental, Going Global: Africa's Corporate GiantsConclusion: The Prospects for African BusinessAppendixBibliographySuggestions for Further Reading Index

Scott D. Taylor is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is author of Business and the State in Southern Africa and Politics in Southern Africa: State and Society in Transition.

"Spanning many disciplines and referenced with endnotes and bibliography, this volume should be in any library with collections on African studies. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"Taylor's key arguments can briefly be expressed as follows: there is more than one kind of African business culture, and African businesses are both more various and healthier than we may have imagined. He provides a clear-eyed review of the current state of business on the course, steering a careful course between a hopeless and over-determined Afropessimism, and a giddy, reckless boisterism about its prospects. Nonetheless, his tone remains refreshingly upbeat and pragmatic."—Journal of Modern African Studies"Many African countries have experienced basic shifts in the 'culture of business,' allowing for diversification, expansion, and more outward-looking strategies by firms. This is a provocative argument that challenges conventional wisdom in academic and policy circles."—Peter Lewis, Johns Hopkins University

• PrefacePart I. Introduction and BackgroundIntroduction1. African Business and Capitalism in Historical PerspectivePart II. Globalization and Political and Economic Transformation2. Institutional Change in the 1990s: Economic and Political Reform3. Business, the African State and Globalization in the New Millennium: Transnational Influences and Domestic Responses Part III. The Diversity of African Business: Problems and Prospects4. Foreign Investment Beyond Compradorism & Primary Commodities: The Role of the Global South5. From Patrimonialism to Profit? The Transformation of Crony Capitalists and Bureaucratic Bourgeoisies6. Going Continental, Going Global: Africa's Corporate GiantsConclusion: The Prospects for African BusinessAppendixBibliographySuggestions for Further Reading Index

Scott D. Taylor is Associate Professor in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is author of Business and the State in Southern Africa and Politics in Southern Africa: State and Society in Transition.

"Spanning many disciplines and referenced with endnotes and bibliography, this volume should be in any library with collections on African studies. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice"Taylor's key arguments can briefly be expressed as follows: there is more than one kind of African business culture, and African businesses are both more various and healthier than we may have imagined. He provides a clear-eyed review of the current state of business on the course, steering a careful course between a hopeless and over-determined Afropessimism, and a giddy, reckless boisterism about its prospects. Nonetheless, his tone remains refreshingly upbeat and pragmatic."—Journal of Modern African Studies"Many African countries have experienced basic shifts in the 'culture of business,' allowing for diversification, expansion, and more outward-looking strategies by firms. This is a provocative argument that challenges conventional wisdom in academic and policy circles."—Peter Lewis, Johns Hopkins University

• PrefacePart I. Introduction and BackgroundIntroduction1. African Business and Capitalism in Historical PerspectivePart II. Globalization and Political and Economic Transformation2. Institutional Change in the 1990s: Economic and Political Reform3. Business, the African State and Globalization in the New Millennium: Transnational Influences and Domestic Responses Part III. The Diversity of African Business: Problems and Prospects4. Foreign Investment Beyond Compradorism & Primary Commodities: The Role of the Global South5. From Patrimonialism to Profit? The Transformation of Crony Capitalists and Bureaucratic Bourgeoisies6. Going Continental, Going Global: Africa's Corporate GiantsConclusion: The Prospects for African BusinessAppendixBibliographySuggestions for Further Reading Index