The State and Political Instability in Africa

In: Journal of developing societies: a forum on issues of development and change in all societies, Volume 25, Issue 1, p. 1-25

Abstract

Political instability has been an enduring feature of the post-colonial landscape in Africa. The scholarly literature has offered various reasons for this phenomenon – the Cold War, ethnic antagonisms and rent-seeking behaviour, among others. However, this article argues that the peripheral capitalist African state is the primary source of political instability on the continent. Specifically, the peripheral capitalist state has generated various crises such as poor regime performance that occasion political instability. Also, since the peripheral capitalist African state is a product and appendage of the global capitalist system, the latter contributes to instability in the former. Hence, in order to tackle the vagaries of political stability, the peripheral capitalist African state must be democratically reconstituted, and fundamental changes must be made in the global capitalist political economy.