Bates Robert H. When Things Fell Apart

Cambridge University Press, 2008. — 218 p.“Bates has laid bare the reasons that violence has been so prevalent in Africa in the late 20th century. It was not ethnic divisions, nor simply available resource wealth, though both are implicated. Rather, African states, buffeted by adverse impacts of globalization, lacked the revenues to administer their fractious societies. When predation and corruption seemed to offer greater rewards than providing stable administration, state leaders undermined their own economies, eventually provoking conflict and rebellions. Bates’s compact account is rich in examples and insights, and supported by the data. He leaves us with a powerful message -- order depends on providing state leaders with the incentives to provide good governance.”
-Jack Goldstone, George Mason University