Africa in Chaos.

• Author: KIMENYI, MWANGI S.
• Position: Review

Africa in Chaos By George B. N. Ayittey New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998. Pp. xvi, 399. $35 cloth.

George B. N. Ayittey's latest book, together with his previous ones (Indigenous African Institutions [Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Transnational Publishers, 1991], and Africa Betrayed [New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992]), places Ayittey within a small group of African scholars whose commitment to classical liberalism is a breath of fresh air on a continent where most well-known scholars are statists. Ayittey and like-minded African scholars regard advancing the ideas of classical liberalism as the cornerstone for the restoration of civil society in Africa.

In Indigenous African Institutions, Ayittey carefully documented features of African indigenous institutions that were to a large extent suited to advancing civil society. In particular, those institutions had in place a system of checks and balances that restrained the powers of the chief and thus assured that leaders would be responsive to the wishes of the public. In addition, property rights in indigenous African institutions were fairly secure, and leaders did not have powers of arbitrary expropriation. By and large, in African indigenous institutions, unregulated markets were the norm. In Africa Betrayed, Ayittey documented the failure of Africa's leaders after independence from colonial rule.

In Africa in Chaos, Ayittey advances the arguments made in his previous books and provides a detailed report on the chaos in Africa and its origins. He also proposes various reforms to deal with the crisis. The book is an excellent chronicle of events that have led to the demise of civil society in Africa.

Economic conditions clearly indicate the chaotic state of affairs in Africa. The continent (more specifically sub-Saharan Africa) is richly endowed with some of the world's most valuable natural resources, including a wide variety of minerals, untapped hydroelectric potential, and farmland. With a huge population and diverse resources, the continent's potential for economic growth is enormous. Yet countries in this region record the lowest standard of living in the world. A large proportion of the population lacks food security and frequently suffers from malnutrition and even starvation. African countries lag far behind in all measures of economic well-being, including proportion of population in poverty, infant mortality, life expectancy, and caloric intake. Infrastructure, such as government...