In this fully revised edition top scholars in African politics address the effects that major currents in Africa and world politics have upon each other and explore the ramifications of this interconnection for contemporary theories of international and comparative politics. The fifth edition focuses on engaging a changing world order. The nation-state as we know it is a legacy of European rule in Africa, and the primacy of the nation-state remains the bedrock of most contemporary theories of international relations. Yet in the fifth decade of Africa's independence, this colonial inheritance has been challenged as never before by state weakness, internal and inter-state conflict, new gains in economic development, large investments by China and other G-20 countries, and internal and external demands for economic and political reform, with potentially far-reaching implications. Including new readings on the Sudan, the Great Lakes crisis, and bilateral vs. multilateral peacekeeping on the continent, this text remains an invaluable resource for students of African and world politics.