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Cover -- Half Title Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Original Title Page -- Original Copyright Page -- Contents -- Lists of maps, tables and figures -- Preface -- Chapter 1 Introduction -- The distribution of power in contemporary Africa -- Patterns of political activity -- The client paradigm -- The setting -- Plan of the book -- Chapter 2 The making of Mushin -- The eve of colonial takeover: 1850-61 -- Early colonial administration: 1861-1927 -- Administrative neglect -- Unofficial authorities: the village Baale and the Baba Isale -- Late colonial administration: 1927-55 -- First steps toward unifying Mushin villages -- Unofficial authorities: the emergence of settler leaders -- Chapter 3 Land and housing as sources of power -- Competition for urban land -- The legal background to competition for urban land -- The economics of land and housing -- The case of Timothy Abiola -- The case of I. A. Adeyemi -- The social benefits of owning urban property -- The descent group -- The nuclear and extended families -- The community -- The status of owners -- Chapter 4 The residential basis of leadership -- Neighbourhood interaction -- Patterns of neighbourhood support -- Bases of neighbourhood power -- Leadership roles -- Dimensions of the dispute-settler role -- Dimensions of the patron and middleman roles -- Leadership skills -- Converting non-political resources into political capital -- Chapter 5 The chieftaincy system -- The birth of a chieftaincy system -- Chieftaincy politics in the party era -- Chieftaincy politics under the military government -- The structure and function of the chieftancy system -- The problems of urban chiefs -- The contemporary meaning of chieftaincy -- Chapter 6 The consolidation ofleadership -- Community leadership: the institutional route to the top -- Local government -- Political parties

US involvement in Africa is growing following threats of terrorism and interruptions in oil production and because of desires by foreign corporations to expand their activities on the continent. The response of American policymakers has been to establish a stronger military presence that will engage in counterterrorism initiatives and police oil installations. The goals and extent of this buildup, and the ideology legitimating it, are new. They are departures from Cold War policies. Similarly, the response of American business leaders to weaknesses in the infrastructure and political order of African states leads them to establish their own forms of community development, known as strategic philanthropy, in order to protect and expand local markets. Despite these major developments, the media are not informing the public. This article examines the implications of these military and business initiatives for African nations and the reasons for lack of information about them.
Editor's Note: This article was delivered as the presidential address to the African Studies Association, New Orleans, 12 November 2004. It first appeared in the African Studies Review, Vol. 47, No. 5, April 2005:1–22, the principal scholarly journal of that Association. On the role of the US in Africa, also see Daniel Volman, 'US Military Involvement in Africa' and Michel Chossudovsky, 'New Undeclared Arms Race: America's Agenda for Global Military Domination' in ROAPE 103, March 2005.

Political change in Africa has not met the ex pectations of pre-independence analysts. Civil wars, military coups, and the demise of multi-party states weigh heavily on the performance of public authorities and the smooth functioning of the body politic. At the local level, political and demographic changes also exceed expectations. Ad ministrators 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 and bureau cratic continuity is minimal. The result is that residents are forced to meet political needs through their own efforts. To these ends 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 modem urban marketplace, and a proliferation of organizations and networks that serve as interest groups or dispute-settlement mechanisms in place of formal govern mental institutions. Although unanticipated, 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 and con tinuity that are to be found in Africa's urban political systems.

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.