Taking a multidisciplinary approach, Nasong'o (international studies, Rhodes College) and his contributors describes new and old paradigms in nine African countries, showing shifts in modes of politics and the theoretical and practical levels. Contributors take a structuration theoretic approach to contemporary Kenyan politics, analyze the transition from socialist order to liberal politics in Tanzania, and describe a reversal of transition in Uganda to a "non-party democracy. They examine the transition from dictatorship in Malawi, deep social change in South Africa, struggles for survival in Zimbabwe, post-military transition in Nigeria, democratic achievements in Cameroon, and the continuing growth of Botswana, the continent's oldest democracy. These essays include insider information that is profound, startling, and unexpected, given the limited coverage of the media of the transitional state of so many nations in Africa. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)