Political culture, cultural universals, and the crisis of identity in Africa

“…the book provides a long awaited and important discussion of postcoloniality on a vast number of issues pertaining to the African continent…Ritchard M’Bayo has assembled a collection of established as well as up and coming scholars, providing diverse and disparate voices required on such an important discourse.” Prof. Chuka Onwumechili There is no doubt that certain African cultural values are now facing the litmus test of ethnoglobalization and the universal conceptions of cultural values. This book is premised on the notion that all cultures have in-built self cleansing mechanisms that lead to cultural renewal whereby society discards certain aspects of culture in response to societal change. African societies and indeed all societies are going through cultural renewal instigated from within and in response to global cultural transformation processes. The book highlights the critical issues and trends in cultural transformation in Africa and examines the relationship between universal values and African cultures and how the attendant tensions in this process are shaping the emerging African world. Culture defines not only who we are but also who others are. Therefore, cultural change inevitably calls for social change and a redefinition and reaffirmation of identities – ours versus others– as members of the (global) community. The book essentially highlights some of the challenges for African societies in the 21st century and expands the discourse on how to reconcile issues of culture and identity and issues of human development.