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Civil wars, military coups, & the demise of multiparty states weigh heavily on the performance of African public authorities & the smooth functioning of the body politic. At the local level, political & demographic changes also exceed expectations. Administrators are unprepared to deal with the vast numbers of migrants who are attracted to the burgeoning cities. At the same time, agencies are constantly reorganized & bureaucratic continuity is minimal. Thus, residents are forced to meet political needs through their own efforts, & there has been an increasing Africanization of the polity, as seen in the proliferation of traditional authority figures who adapt their roles as chiefs or patrons to the modern Ur marketplace, & a proliferation of organizations & networks that serve as interest groups or dispute-settlement mechanisms in place of formal governmental institutions. These features can no longer be considered deviations from a prescribed norm; they are an organic part of the political process. Today they account for much of the stability & continuity in Africa's Ur political systems. Modified HA.

When it was formed in September 1999, the middle axis coalition was not seen as a serious political player. However, within a month, the political constellation had shifted in favour of this coalition emerging as a major player in deciding the fate of the next Indonesian government. This article addresses the question of whether there is an emerging Islamic faction with strength, unity and cohesion to affect Indonesia's political transition. It contends that pre-existing tensions and cleavages within Indonesia's Muslim community make such an alliance unlikely beyond the immediate consensus of blocking a Megawati predicency. In the final analysis, this article suggests that the contribution of Muslim groups to a democratisation process in Indonesia remains minimal. (AS J Pol Sc/DÜI)

This article discusses political transitions in Brazil in the context of globalization. It focuses on the political legacies that offered resistance to external processes & on the emergence of "new checks & balances" that constituted the relevant conditions for processes of political decision-making from the 1980s to 2002. It also shows that the management of economic policies, combined with the broader political process, was an important dimension of these political transitions. The article concludes by emphasizing the challenges that exist in the treatment of social issues & the connections between the domestic & the international agendas. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 53 References. [Copyright 2003 Sage Publications Ltd.]