Indigenous African Institutions

George Ayittey's Indigenous African Institutions presents a detailed & convincing picture of precolonial & post-colonial Africa--its cultures, traditions, & indigenous institutions, including participatory democracy. Contrasting traditional African society with both colonial rule & the currently prevalent one-man military dictatorship, Ayittey concludes that while colonialism was pernicious & brutal, it did not totally destroy native African institutions & in some ways even contributed to their survival & regeneration. The modern dictatorships under African "elites," he argues, are equally pernicious & brutal, & perhaps even more bent on the wholesale destruction of African institutions, squandering human resources, & diverting foreign aid funds to their own Swiss bank accounts.Ayittey, George B. N. is the author of 'Indigenous African Institutions', published 1991 under ISBN 9780941320658 and ISBN 0941320650.