Customer Reviews

The Horn of Africa: Politics and International Relations

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In this book, Woodward delivers a broad and concise political history of the Horn of Africa up to 2003. He differs from some other writers on the Horn by opining that the states that make up the Horn have "significantly different rather than similar historical experiences," and he treats each state differently while still acknowledging connections. There are separate chapters on Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and Djibouti, as well as essays on multiple issues that are prevalent in the Horn such as regional conflict, extra-state actors, and conflict resolution initiatives. Woodward treats the history of the Horn in Cold War and post-Cold War lenses, although since the book was published in 2003, recent important developments in the War on Terror have not been covered. He also highlights the impact of Islamism, underdeveloped civil society, famine, famine relief, and demarcated/undefined borders. This book serves as an accessible account of the history of politics, conflict, and state collapse in the Horn. This text is also full of important dates, data, and percentages, although it lacks any significant visual representations of its information or maps of any kind (which would have been helpful).