"James S. Wunsch is professor of political science and international relations and department chair at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Dele Olowu is professor of political science and head of the Department of Public Administration at Obafemi Awolowo University, lie Ife, Nigeria."

• Preface -- The Failure of the Centralized African State -- Foundations of Centralization: The Colonial Experience and the African Context -- Centralization and Development in Post-Independence Africa -- The Failure of Current Decentralization Programs in Africa -- African Economic Performance: Current Programs and Future Failures -- State Tutelage vs. Self-Governance: The Rhetoric and Reality of Decentralization in Senegal -- Proprietary Authority and Local Administration in Liberia -- Centralization and Development in Eastern Africa -- Centralization, Self-Governance, and Development in Nigeria -- The Problem of Sovereignty in Human Affairs -- Reciprocity and Governance in Africa -- Beyond the Failure of the Centralized State: Toward Self-Governance and an Alternative Institutional Paradigm -- Conclusion: Self-Governance and African Development