When Things Fell Apart: State Failure in Late-Century Africa

In the later decades of the twentieth century, Africa plunged intopolitical chaos. States failed, governments became predators, andcitizens took up arms. In When Things Fell Apart, Robert H. Batesadvances an exploration of state failure in Africa. In so doing, he notonly plumbs the depths of the continent's late-century tragedy, butalso the logic of political order and the foundations of the state.This book covers a wide range of territory by drawing on materials fromRwanda, Sudan, Liberia, and Congo. A must-read for scholars and policymakers concerned with political conflict and state failure.