During the first 25 years of independence, the African state was largely driven from within by the ambition to establish political order in a world where national sovereignty over issues of development was not in question. The next 25 years have been characterized by a different dynamic: external influences have become increasingly important in shaping the behavior of the state and its direction. The main theme of this volume is that more is at stake today than in the past: not only control of the state but also the nature of the regime.