Synopses & Reviews
It focuses on Kenya, a country that continued to grow while others declined in Africa.
Review
"Theoretically rigorous, at times even elegant, this volume further confirms Robert Bates as one of the keenest observers of the complex relationship between politics and economics in the developing world. . . . Throughout, Bates masterfully expands on his theoretical arguments, demonstrating that it is necessary to anchor an analysis of class formation within an analysis of social structure and that one has to include an analysis of the broader polity within any study of agrarian politics." American Political Science Review --
Table of Contents
1. The demand for revolution: the agrarian origins of Mau Mau; Appendix 1A. Kinship and stratification; 2. Material interest and political preference: the agrarian origins of political conflict; 3. Institutional structure, agricultural development, and political conflict; 4. From drought to famine: the dynamics of subsistence crises; Appendix 4A. The buying center program; 5. The politics of food crises; Appendix 5A. Famine: Meru, August 1984.