PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL ARTICLES

Amii Omara-Otunnu The impression that socio-political conflicts are endemic in Uganda is not far from the truth. The genealogy of internal conflicts can be traced to the very inception of the state. It is certainly the case that what is now Uganda was from the beginning constructed and baptized into a political entity through protracted conflicts of various descriptions, the legacy of which still haunts the country. Indeed it is accurate to characterize the history of Uganda as one whose flow and texture have been determined by conflict. Yet although it can be argued that internal socio-political conflicts have their ancestry in the colonial system, conflicts in the post-colonial period have acquired a new saliency, the logic of which is imprecise in meaning. In summary, in the recent post-colonial era, the political elites in Uganda have exhibited a high proclivity for dysfunctional use of violence with the result that the...

This is the first biographical dictionary of major political leaders in sub-Saharan Africa since 1945, leaders who have made important and often determinative contributions to politics and government in their countries and in the region as a whole. Editor Harvey Glickman has brought together an international team of experts to profile fifty-three important heads of state, theorists, party leaders, and politicians from a representative group of African countries. An invaluable reference for libraries of all kinds, this dictionary will be useful to advanced scholars and neophytes alike in evaluating African leadership, national political systems, and contemporary world history in general.

Glickman’s introduction explains the criteria used for selecting the figures profiled and then describes what is involved in being a political leader in Africa in the late colonial period, in early independence, and now in the fourth decade of independence as new forms of government and leadership appear in Africa. Glickman remarks on the lack of women in high ranks of African politics and explores reasons for their notable absence. Each profile examines the role of the leader in history, the personal events of birth, tribal affiliation, education, early career, and rise to political power. Figures chosen represent a variety of types including founding fathers, radical opposition party leaders, conservatives, socialists, oppressive dictators, and philosophical theorists. Each entry has a bibliography of works by and about the leader. A chronology lists events in sub-Saharan politics from 1892 to 1991. A list of important figures by country and a short bibliography of general works on political leadership and change in Africa complete the volume.

Although all authoritarian regimes in Africa are not military in character, the question of the military has been central to the current issue of democratisation on the continent. The contributions in this volume deal neither with the definitive erosion of the military and civil authoritarianism, nor with the inexorable march toward democracy but with what appears in retrospect to be a less clear-cut and more open-ended state of transition, located ambiguously between the crisis of authoritarianism and the prospect for democracy on the continent. The contributors emphasize the uneven patterns and forms of militarisation in Africa but within and between regimes.

This major new edition of The Oxford Companion to Politics of the World reflects the changing world with a reassessment of many of the core themes of the previous edition, and new articles on the people, concepts, and events that have shaped the world since 1993. The second edition includes biographies of Kofi Annan, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, and Gerhard Schroder; articles on events such as the Rwandan Genocide and the war in Kosovo; and coverage of international trade developments such as NAFTA and the World Trade Organization. Eighty-seven of the 672 articles in the Second Edition are completely new; most others are thoroughly revised.

This edition also features a substantial new set of articles, a dozen essays on critical isssues written by influential figures. Recognizing the importance of including varying viewpoints, the editors have commissioned these essays to provide an informed and often passionate debate on controversial topics. Discussions include Lani Guinier and Glenn Loury on Affirmative Action; Francis Fukuyama and Milton Fisk on the Limits of Liberal Democracy; and Lloyd Axworthy and John Bolton on the United Nations.

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The clarion call for democracy that pervades the world scene has given much legitimacy to discourses on democracy in Africa. However, although the debate on democracy has gained momentum and respectability on the African political landscape, its parameters and contents are still not well defined. In Uganda, the assumption of power by Yoweri Museveni, leader of the National Resistance Army (NRA), was hailed by many as holding out a promise for fundamental change in the country. In particular, it was hoped that Museveni and his army would allow for the great majority of Ugandans to exercise their political acumen and legitimate right to shape a democratic destiny for the country.

Most Ugandans had hoped that the post-Amin period would witness 1 See Amii Omara-Otunnu, Politics and the Military in Uganda, ifSgo-1985 (London, 1987), chs. 8—14. 446 AMII OMARA-OTUNNU the resurrection of democratic pluralism to harness the full potential of the country. But barely had the euphoria faded following the ouster of the military regime in April 1979 than the army paraded its debilitating vitality to suffocate yearnings for the public's involvement in decision making.