"Firmin-Sellers adds luster to the influential `Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions' series in a tightly argued, well-researched monograph using two tribal/ethnic case studies to illustrate a series of analytical and theoretical propositions in political economy and beyond....The work's integration of field work with theoretical perspectives is remarkable. Highly recommended for upper-division undergraduates and higher." R.M. Fulton, Choice

• Series editors' preface; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction; Part I. The Institutions of the Colonial State: 2. The logic of indirect rule; Part II. The Reinvention of Tradition: the Evolution of Property Rights Under Indirect Rule: 3. Institutional failure in the Ga state; 4. Institutional creation in Akyem Abuakwa: the politics of property rights; Part III. The Transition to Independent Government: 5. Redefining the institutions of central government: the writing of the Coussey Constitution; 6. The return to the traditional state; 7. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.