Includes bibliographical references (pages 287-293).

Part 1. General perspectives on constraint. Political constraints on African development / Michael F. Lofchie ; The range of choice : constraints on the policies of governments of contemporary African independent states / Immanuel Wallerstein -- Part 2. The parameters of political choice. The paradox of development : reflections on a study of local-central political relations in Senegal / Jonathan S. Barker ; Political constraints on economic development in Ghana / Barbara Callaway and Emily Card ; The cabinet and presidential leadership in Tanzania: 1960-1966 / R. Cranford Pratt ; A local perspective on developmental strategy in the Ivory Coast / Richard E. Stryker ; Agricultural policy in Uganda : capability and choice / M. Crawford Young ; Ranching and scheming : a case study of the Ankole Ranching Scheme / Martin R. Doornbos and Michael F. Lofchie -- Part 3. The political context of future development. Political parties and political machines in Africa / Henry Bienen ; Cincinnatus in Africa : the possibility of military withdrawal from politics / Claude E. Welch, Jr. ; The prospects for democracy in Africa / Rupert Emerson -- Conclusion: Observations on social and institutional change in independent Africa / Michael F. Lofchie.

Published under the auspices of the African Studies Centre and the Committee on Political Change, University of California, Los Angeles.

Compilation of essays on the political aspects of and obstacles to economic development in African countries since independence - includes chapters on Senegal, Ghana, Tanzania, the Cote d'Ivoire and Uganda and covers agricultural policy and cattle production, political partys, the withdrawal of the armed forces from politics, social change and prospects for democracy. Bibliography.