Elizabeth Schmidt. Foreign Intervention in Africa after the Cold War: Sovereignty, Responsibility and the War on Terror. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2018. xxiv + 462 pp. Photographs. Maps. Glossary. Suggested Readings. Index. $36.95. Paper. ISBN: 978-0896803213.

Abstract

Elizabeth Schmidt's critical review of foreign political and military intervention in the African continent, Foreign Intervention in Africa after the Cold War: Sovereignty, Responsibility and the War on Terror, is a must read. In using the designation "foreign," the author is referring to actors who intervene in the affairs of a specific sovereign state who are not formally part of that state. This includes other states within and beyond the continent, multilateral organizations, and a variety of non-state actors such as rebel, irridentist, and mercenary groups and terrorist/extremist organizations/movements. While her focus is on political and military intervention, Schmidt describes and explains these actions through the complementary lenses of history and critical political economy.Put simply, post-Cold War intervention in the continent represents both continuity and change. Indeed, the story Schmidt tells is only too well known: Africa continues to be a global battleground for hearts, minds, and resources. The results of these struggles, though played out in very different locations, are disappointingly similar: foreign intervention does more harm than good, largely because the motives are selfish, despite claims to the contrary. Across thirteen chapters, Schmidt shows how and why foreign political and military intervention makes things worse for the average citizen. This, too, is nothing new to the student of Africa. Why, then, is this book a "must read"? In my view, it is because the author manages to bring together a massive amount of information across a highly diverse socioeconomic and political landscape, organize it around a very persuasive set of propositions, and present it in a highly readable and compelling way. The concise "suggested reading" essays at the end of each chapter are worth the price of purchase alone.This book, therefore, will appeal to a very wide audience, from the lay person looking for a sensible way into the complex question of why so much of the African continent seems always to be in upheaval, to regional experts interested in comparative studies and specialists seeking a handy one-stop