People, Predicaments and Potentials in Africa

edited by Takehiko Ochiai, Misa Hirano-Nomoto, Daniel E. Agbiboa

The term ‘African
Potentials’ refers to the knowledge, systems, practices, ideas and
values created and implemented in African societies that are expected to
contribute to overcoming various challenges and promoting people’s
wellbeing. This collection of articles, focused on African societies, is
based on the idea that ‘Africa is People’. In this book, African people
are placed at the centre of the discussion. The book’s contributors,
all of whom believe in African people and their potentials, consider
women, minors and young people, people with disabilities, entrepreneurs,
herders, farmers, mine workers, refugees, migrants, traditional rulers,
militiamen and members of the political elite, and examine their
predicaments and potentials in detail. Africa is people, and African
potentials can be found only in African people themselves.

Price range: £47.00 through £50.00

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About the editors

Takehiko Ochiai

Takehiko OCHIAI is Professor of African Studies and International Relations at Ryukoku University, Kyoto, Japan.

Misa Hirano-Nomoto

Misa HIRANO-NOMOTO is
Professor of the Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies and
Center for African Area Studies at Kyoto University, Japan.

Daniel E. Agbiboa

Daniel E. AGBIBOA is Assistant Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University.

Review

“This volume brings together an array of field studies by a team of mostly Japanese and African scholars who command an impressive knowledge of their respective topics. The result of their collaboration over several years is a multifaceted perspective on African agency and the interplay between resilience, innovation and potentials across the continent. In the process, the book makes a powerful case for the broadening of conventional assessments of emergence in and outside Africa.”

Daniel C. Bach, Director of Research Emeritus of the CNRS, University of Bordeaux

“Nothing expresses the substance of this volume better than editors’ declaration, ‘Africa is people’. Who drives African politics? Traditional Kings, militiamen, entrepreneurs, herders, or farmers? African women, minors, young people, migrants, and refugees play significant roles not only in tiny villages and national politics but also in the globalized world. The vivid descriptions and penetrating analyses of these outstanding Africa scholars will draw readers of this book to the potentials of Africa, where humans live as ‘human because of the other humans’. “

Keiko Sakai, Dean of the Center for Relational Studies on Global Crises, Chiba University