本書はサハラ以南のアフリカの現状を踏まえ、全般的にそれらの政治機構が他と比べ弱いのはなぜなのかを検討しながら、アフリカ大陸の政治的慣行を掘り下げていく一冊です。アフリカの低開発に関わる過去と現在の要因を検討し、なぜ一部の国々は他より政治的暴力が頻発する状況にあるのかを分析します。建前の制度や組織の内部で国と社会が実際どう機能しているかを明かし、外的要因がアフリカ大陸にどう作用しているのか歴史的経緯と現状について論じます。
　　

• Introduces African politics, providing an overview of the different states and their systems
• Explores the contemporary and historical influences on African politics, such as colonialism
• Explains how regional identity often dominates politics in Africa
• Considers democracy and political reform in Africa, and the role of women in African politics

 
Africa is a continent of 54 countries and over a billion people. However, despite the rich diversity of the African experience, it is striking that continuations and themes seem to be reflected across the continent, particularly south of the Sahara. Questions of underdevelopment, outside exploitation, and misrule are characteristic of many - if not most-states in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

In this Very Short Introduction Ian Taylor explores how politics is practiced on the African continent, considering the nature of the state in Sub-Saharan Africa and why its state structures are generally weaker than elsewhere in the world. Exploring the historical and contemporary factors which account for Africa's underdevelopment, he also analyses why some African countries suffer from high levels of political violence while others are spared. Unveilling the ways in which African state and society actually function beyond the formal institutional façade, Taylor discusses how external factors - both inherited and contemporary - act upon the continent.