In their analysis of government forms in Africa, Issaev and Zakharov employ a federalist perspective, drawing upon the historical and social structures of African societies. The authors provide a detailed historical context related to colonial rule in each chapter on a federation (or federation attempt) from Africa. The comprehension of a nation’s historical development and the processes by which its ethnic composition has been shaped gives rise to a series of inquiries that are likely to be encountered by the reader. This topic has received scant attention in the extant literature on African politics.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section focuses on the colonial period, the second on the period of independence, and the third on the extreme cases of Somalia’s many autonomous regions and Tuaregs from the Sahel. The authors of the book posit the hypothesis that a decentralized and federalist or unitary system could serve as a solution to the issue of separatism in Africa. They argue that, as British colonialists withdrew from Africa, they introduced federal administrations, such as the short-lived Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. This assisted the newly established modern states with political and administrative mechanisms. Therefore they claim that colonialism did not always have negative consequences in terms of governance. The experience of federalism in Africa appears to have been somewhat unsuccessful, as evidenced by the frequency of civil wars of varying intensity in several African countries.

After the introduction, the second and third chapters discuss two experiments with a federation, both of which were started by colonial powers—one British and one French. The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which is discussed in the second chapter, was a federal administration established by the British colonial authorities and which existed between 1953 and 1963. Of the three countries comprising this federation, Southern Rhodesia was the most advantaged, as the administration had clearly been shaped to suit the wishes of the colonists there. Chapter Three examines another short-lived and failed federation attempt by colonial powers. The Cameroonian federation, which comprised English Northern Cameroon, Southern Cameroon and French Cameroon, was governed by former French colonies and lasted from 1961 to 1972. Chapters Two and Three demonstrate a strong historical focus; however, they offer a relatively limited insight into the contemporary situation of the continent.

Chapter Four discusses how the roots of the socioeconomic divide between the north and south of Nigeria were established under colonial rule. The authors argue that, under colonial rule, the southern region was characterized by higher levels of education and prosperity, partly due to the settlement of European colonists. Accordingly, while the country’s first leaders were predominantly from the south, militants were predominantly from the north. This chapter also adds depth to the discussion by examining Nigeria’s postindependence period and addressing the impact of significant events—such as military coups and the secession of Biafra—on the unity of the federation. The fifth chapter is dedicated to the Federalist expansion of Ethiopia. Following the adoption of UN Resolution 390 in 1950 Eritrea and Ethiopia were reunified. The formation of a federation by foreign entities or major powers was a key factor in the development of this region. The advent of decentralization in the aftermath of the collapse of communism in Ethiopia in 1991 signalled a paradigm shift towards a novel manifestation of federalism, which has yet to demonstrate its efficacy, as evidenced by the prevalence of civil wars and ethnic conflicts within Ethiopia since 1995. Subsequent chapters explore the federal systems of two countries that have encountered separatist movements from the postcolonial era to the present day. The discussion then shifts to the case of South Africa, which has experimented with federalism at various points in its history.

Chapter Six is dedicated to an analysis of the federation experiences in South Africa, which has undergone three distinct phases of decentralization, coinciding with the historical periods of colonial rule, white supremacy rule, and the establishment of a democratic system. The Union of South Africa represented a distinctive, albeit unfavorable, occurrence in the history of the continent. The Union was officially recognized as a unitary state, yet in practice it functioned as a decentralized entity. It is evident that South Africa has undergone three distinct phases of decentralization, coinciding with the historical eras of colonial rule, white supremacy rule, and the establishment of a democratic system. The administrative form of federalism in South Africa is like the German model, as opposed to the competitive model (akin to that observed in the USA) that was established following the termination of apartheid in 1996 with the adoption of the Constitution. In Chapter Seven, Comoros is presented as an exceptional type of island federalism in the twenty-first century. Since it gained independence in 1975, the country has had almost twenty coups and coup attempts. These were a result of federalism, but federalism was also a source of solution.

Two trends of decentralization have been observed in Africa. The first of these is characterized by the process of decentralization from above, a prime example of which is the Somali case study in Chapter Eight. The civil war that ensued in 1991 led to the formation of numerous federal or autonomous states in Somalia. Indeed, Somaliland declared its independence. This separation and the dispersal of power across different regions is described in the book as a very bizarre type of federalism. The second trend is typified by decentralization from below, a phenomenon exemplified by the Tuaregs, which are in the northern regions of Mali and Niger, though they do not possess a state of their own, in Chapter Nine.

A notable issue with the book pertains to the absence of a theoretical or conceptual framework addressing federalism. To facilitate comprehension of the discussions that occur throughout the chapters, it would be beneficial to employ a conceptual framework. Another key issue that has thus far been overlooked is the comparison of cases and to propose federation models or structures for African countries. The book is also deficient in the absence of a conclusion, which would prove beneficial to facilitate the comparison. The most powerful part of the book is the interview data from the fieldwork. This book serves as a valuable resource for researchers and students seeking to comprehend the historical transition of Africa from a colonial federal system to its present-day configuration.