| | Open or covert competition for 'spoils' has often been central to the political process in many countries, not least in Africa. In ROAPE 24, Szeftel found the pursuit of spoils in the case of Zambia to be a fundamental mechanism of surplus transfer, underlying the process of class formation. Roberts, in the same issue, portrayed the Algerian bureaucracy as a structure in which the pursuance of private benefit and traditional obligations are basic elements. Precisely because of the relative weakness of indigenous capital, the state is frequently the main locus of accumulation in African settings. It is therefore not surprising that control of state office should he regarded as an attractive prize for both individuals and groups; nor that politics should often turn on conflict for privileged access to such resources; nor that the state should serve as the primary source for individual enrichment of politicians and bureaucrats. The degree to which any of these occurs varies by time and place. But their importance within the political process cannot be denied. |
