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The new African states show greater pol'al stability than older 'new states' in parallel periods. In comparative perspective, this judgment seems sound if one avoids confusing pol'al stability with stagnation, & if one recognizes the dependence of stability, in its widest sense, on the development of pol. Among African leaders, this recognition is widespread. A closer comparative analysis, even of (1) establishment of one-party systems, (2) sporadic violence, including pol'al assassination, (3) mutinies & coups, & (4) intertribal violence, can be interpreted as pointing in the direction of pol'al stability. The development of continental pol in Africa also suggests that recognition of the primacy of pol will lead to optimal pol'al stability. AA.

Precolonial African polities have emerged in recent years as fertile ground for the comparative archaeological study of social complexity and the state. For much of the twentieth century, precolonial African states were misinterpreted as the product of outside stimuli. Recent archaeological research on such polities, however, has revealed the autochthonous origins of social complexity and the state in Africa, providing valuable new insights for the comparative study of state formation in the past. This review outlines how archaeologists have tackled the precolonial state in Africa, beginning with an outline of colonial-era discourse on the nature of the state and civilization in Africa, followed by a discussion of how archaeological perspectives on power provide insights into political processes across the continent. Key examples are examined within four broadly defined subregions. Throughout this review, I highlight (a) the agency of indigenous political entrepreneurs in driving state formation across the continent, and (b) how alternative modes of power shaped the political contours of these precolonial African states.

The new African states, as a group, show greater political stability than older "new states" in parallel periods. In comparative perspective, this judgment seems sound if one avoids confusing political stability with stagnation, and if one recognizes the dependence of stability, in its widest sense, upon the development of politics. Among African leaders, this rec ognition is widespread. A closer comparative analysis, even of (1) establishment of one-party systems, (2) sporadic violence, including political assassination, (3) mutinies and coups, and (4) intertribal violence, can be interpreted as pointing in the direction of political stability. The development of continen tal politics in Africa also suggests that recognition of the pri macy of politics will lead to optimal political stability.

Nach einer kurzen Analyse der einschlägigen Literatur werden vier Wege diskutiert und mit zahlreichen Beispielen belegt, die dem Staat in Afrika zur Bildung einer dominierenden Herrschaftsklasse offenstehen: 1) über die legitime Beschäftigungs- und Ausgabenpolitik des Staates; 2) über seine Entwicklungspläne und Entwicklungsstrategie; 3) über die Manipulierung ethnischer Bindungen, um das Entstehen eines Klassenbewußtseins und eine Organisation der sozial unteren Volksteile zu verhindern sowie 4) schließlich über die illegitime Anhäufung staatlichen Wohlstands und staatlicher Macht durch politische Korruption. Abschließend werden einige Überlegungen zur Bedeutung und zu den Folgen dieser Klassenbildungsprozesse angestellt. (DÜI-Hlb)

As the state has moved back to the centre of analysis of political change and conflict, increasing attention has focused on its rôle in forming new classes and in structuring the possibilities of class action. As Nelson Kasfir notes, both Marx and Weber 'saw the vital role the state could play in consolidating the class position of a dominant social group'.1Neither, however, saw the state as the inherent locus of the process of class formation and of class domination. For Marx, the state was typically the instrument of a ruling class whose origin and basis was in control over the means of production. For Weber, power, class, and status were potentially independent dimensions of stratification.