Closing the Circle is a provocative, sober analysis of the struggles to construct democracy in Africa. Well-known African Studies scholar Richard Sandbrook argues that Africa’s problems will not be solved until order is created. And in the creation of order, politics is primary. In this his eighth book on Africa, Sandbrook explores the realities and possibilities of democracy in Africa. He argues for the necessity of a virtuous and self-reinforcing circle of civil and political rights, growing prosperity, and state renovation. In the end, says Sandbrook, Africa’s tragedy is that external as well as internal constraints operate–and that both require attention. He makes a radical call for a supportive social-democratic reform of globalization.