BOOK REVIEW: Ethnic Politics and State Power in Africa. The Logic of the Coup-Civil War Trap. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. 389 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. $110.00. Cloth. ISBN: 978-1107176072 .

Roessler Philip. Ethnic Politics and State Power in Africa. The Logic of the Coup-Civil War Trap. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. 389 pp. Maps. Illustrations. Notes. Bibliography. $110.00. Cloth. ISBN: 978-1107176072.

Why do heads of African states often exclude leaders of other ethnic groups from political power, knowing that this strategy can lead to large-scale political violence? Philip Roessler’s Ethnic Politics and State Power in Africa answers this question and offers readers an elegant and insightful discussion of coups, civil war, and ethnic politics. Roessler’s persuasive analysis points to problems rooted in the informal institution of power-sharing. He walks readers through the dilemma faced by African executives in weak bureaucratic states: the coup-civil war tradeoff. A leader can share governing roles with leaders from other ethnic groups, which enables him to gain access to those rivals’ political networks. Lacking formal institutions to monitor and control the population beyond the capital, this alliance provides the regime with greater societal control and state reach. However, it also opens the possibility that these rivals may accumulate...