African and Caribbean Politics: From Kwame Nkrumah to the Grenada Revolution

The book "What Explains the Proliferation of Authoritarian Regimes in Contemporary African and Caribbean Politics" is a thought-provoking and insightful analysis of the historical and social forces that have undermined democracy and social reform in the societies of Africa and its diaspora.

Marable's brilliant historical sketch provides a detailed understanding of the evolution of revolutionary nationalism, highlighting how the legacies of slavery, forced labor, and colonialism have combined to stunt the development of popular self-representation.

The author's in-depth examination of key cases such as Ghana and Guyana reveals why mass anti-colonial movements eventually decayed into personalistic and repressive cults around Nkrumah and Burnham.

Furthermore, Marable's impassioned and searching analysis of the tragic self-destruction of the Grenadian Revolution in 1983 provides a sobering reminder of the dangers of relying on a corrupted democratic centralism within revolutionary movements.

Despite this, Marable argues that African and Caribbean socialism must find new commitments to egalitarian democracy and pluralism in order to achieve true social justice and equality.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the complexities of contemporary African and Caribbean politics and the challenges facing socialist movements in these regions.