Goran Hyden – författare

Rethinking African Agriculture argues that rural communities in Africa are still shaped by non-agrarian factors both in livelihood strategy and social formation.

This volume renews and deepens the research on the African peasantry by offering a fresh perspective drawn from the hitherto largely unknown Japanese research on the subject. The ethnographic fieldwork focuses not only on the micro environment of the producers but also the broader historical context in which they live and work. The contributors argue that, in comparison with other regions of the world, Africa has never passed through an agrarian revolution that would effectively change the mode of production from within. Modernization efforts from the outside have fallen far short of the ambition to transform agriculture in Africa. Rural Africa is still largely a natural society characterized by "non-agrarian" features as evident in people’s livelihood, social organization, and farming systems.

This book will be of interest to social scientists and anthropologists focusing on African development, agriculture and agrarian societies,

Rethinking African Agriculture argues that rural communities in Africa are still shaped by non-agrarian factors both in livelihood strategy and social formation.

This volume renews and deepens the research on the African peasantry by offering a fresh perspective drawn from the hitherto largely unknown Japanese research on the subject. The ethnographic fieldwork focuses not only on the micro environment of the producers but also the broader historical context in which they live and work. The contributors argue that, in comparison with other regions of the world, Africa has never passed through an agrarian revolution that would effectively change the mode of production from within. Modernization efforts from the outside have fallen far short of the ambition to transform agriculture in Africa. Rural Africa is still largely a natural society characterized by "non-agrarian" features as evident in people’s livelihood, social organization, and farming systems.

This book will be of interest to social scientists and anthropologists focusing on African development, agriculture and agrarian societies,

Development and Democracy confirms the robust relationship between levels of economic development and democracy, but suggests that globalization is a key variable in determining the tenuous nature of this relationship in the periphery of the world economy. It raises new questions about the role of social classes in democratization, and points to the importance of including the nature of the state as a factor in the study of democratization. A further important finding is that countries with mixed legal systems correlate less positively with democracy than do countries with more homogenous legal systems. Moreover, Development and Democracy shows conclusively that the way researchers design their studies has a major impact on their findings.

Development and Democracy confirms the robust relationship between levels of economic development and democracy, but suggests that globalization is a key variable in determining the tenuous nature of this relationship in the periphery of the world economy. It raises new questions about the role of social classes in democratization, and points to the importance of including the nature of the state as a factor in the study of democratization. A further important finding is that countries with mixed legal systems correlate less positively with democracy than do countries with more homogenous legal systems. Moreover, Development and Democracy shows conclusively that the way researchers design their studies has a major impact on their findings.

‘This volume is a major contribution to comparative policy analysis by focusing on the policy processes in Kenya, a country undergoing modernization of its economic and political institutions. Written by experts with a keen eye for the commonalities and differences the country shares with other nations, it covers a range of topics like the role of experts and politicians in policymaking, the nature of public accountability, the impact of social media on policy actors, and the challenges of teaching policy studies in the country. As a first comprehensive study of an African nation, Governing Kenya will remain a key text for years to come’. 

—Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Chair of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada 

‘A superb example of development scholarship which sets aside ‘best practice’ nostrums and focuses on governance challenges specific to time and place while holding on to a comparative perspective. Useful to scholars and practitioners not only in Kenya but across developing areas. I strongly recommend it!’ 

—Brian Levy teaches at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa. 

‘This book is an exploration of important deliberations - of interest for those of us interested in deepening the understanding of public policy theories and their application within a specific African setting’. 

—Wilson Muna, Lecturer of Public Policy, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya 

‘This collection of think pieces on public policy in Kenya gives the reader theoretical and practical hooks critical to the analysis of the implementation of the sovereign policy document in Kenya, the 2010 Constitution’. 

—Willy Mutunga, Chief Justice & President of the Supreme Court, Republic of Kenya, 2011-2016 

‘Governing Kenya provides acomprehensive analysis of public policymaking in Kenya. The book integrates public policy theory with extensive empirical examples to provide a valuable portrait of the political and economic influences on policy choices in this important African country. The editors have brought together a group of significant scholars to produce an invaluable contribution to the literature on public policy in Africa’. 

—B. Guy Peters, Maurice Folk Professor of American Government, University of Pittsburgh, USA