In his recent book, Decolonizing African Politics, Michael Amoah challenges common clichés about Africa used in university lectures. These clichés include topics such as nationhood, neopatrimonialism, and arbitrary borders. Amoah aims to contribute to the literature on decolonization and course curriculum. He argues that negative images often associated with Africa are not unique to the continent and can be seen in developed Western countries as well. This book consists of ten chapters, opening with an introduction and closing with a conclusion. While some chapters explore their topics in depth using examples, others seem somewhat superficial. In the second chapter, which addresses the concept of nationhood, Amoah traces the idea of nationalism back to its European roots and criticizes the Eurocentrism at its core. While criticizing the dismissal of the idea of nationalism, which emerged in the sixteenth–eighteenth centuries, outside of northwestern Europe, he attempts to explain nationalism in ten points, drawing on the literature. He criticizes the fact that, despite meeting the fundamental criteria of nationhood, the Aksum Kingdom, Great Zimbabwe, the Ghana Empire, and the Fanti and Ashanti nations in modern Ghana are not considered nations by some Western thinkers. He uses definitions from various sources and literature to discuss the concepts of nation, nation-state, and multinational state, and explains why he sees Ghana as a multinational state.

In the third chapter, the author criticizes the widespread tendency in universities to interpret neopatrimonialism as a concept specific to Africa, while pointing out that the concept’s origins lie in Western Europe and the United States, with reference to Max Weber. He then attempts to decolonize the concept by providing examples of neopatrimonialism from Ghana, France, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Although the three cases from the West are very different from the Ghanaian case, one can still see traces of neopatrimonialism. Despite the criticism, examples from Africa are more accurate and comprehensive than those from the West in modern times. Therefore, it is not surprising that they are used more widely in university courses.

The fourth chapter discusses how arbitrary borders are not only found in Africa, but everywhere in the world. It questions why Africa is stereotypically singled out. According to Amoah, almost all borders are human-made, and the map of Europe is constantly changing. Therefore, the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties and the 1963 African border agreement are no different. At the end of the chapter, he shows different maps of Africa and Europe from various time periods to highlight the similarities between them.

The fifth chapter compares the signatories of the French Colonial Pact with elements of the Algerian War of Independence, examining resistance to colonialism, national movements, and nationalist leaders. The chapter also highlights the differences between Algeria and other former French colonies, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa. Certain special military rights granted to France in former African colonies other than Algeria can be observed. The sixth chapter discusses the recent decolonization of Françafrique, which saw the formation of the Alliance of Sahel States. The author refers to this period as the “Francophone Spring.” The chapter begins with an overview of French Legion operations in Françafrique, before moving on to analyze the Francophone Spring in Guinea, Gabon, and Senegal. Finally, the author focuses on anti-France regime changes in the Sahel region.

The book’s fundamental issue lies in the incongruity between the depth of the explanation on decolonization in the first five chapters following the introduction and the subsequent three chapters, which are themed around Africa’s international relations. The decolonization of concepts such as nationhood and arbitrary borders was explained in detail, and Amoah presented a guideline to illustrate this for instructors. Nevertheless, the decolonization of Africa’s international relations chapters do not offer a similar guide for delivering lectures. It is evident that the author proposes a few alternative scenarios for the geopolitical dynamics of the African continent; however, the discussion remains superficial. Chapter Seven discusses how Africa’s expanding relations with China and Russia were win-win situations until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Since then, demand for critical minerals from global and regional powers has increased. The number of African countries heavily indebted to China clarifies who is winning in the China–Africa relationship in the twenty-first century. Amoah suggests that Africa could not escape the second scramble, and that the continent has become the setting for the East versus West competition for green natural resources.

The eighth chapter explores the collaboration between Africa and other Global South countries, including those in Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Amoah critically questions the inequalities within global politics and the international system. He also questions why African states need a designated foreign policy department like the European Union has. He argues that African states should coordinate to develop a common foreign policy, rather than becoming vulnerable to the foreign policies of external powers such as the United States, Russia, and France. In the subsequent chapter, he briefly analyzes Africa’s demand for reform of the United Nations Security Council structure and argues that it is a sign of the decolonization of global governance. The conclusion chapter is more of a summary of each chapter in the book than a discussion of the results. Reading the conclusion can provide insight into the discussions within the book, allowing readers to decide whether to read all the chapters. Thus, the conclusion is like a collection of abstracts for each chapter. Despite a few minor shortcomings, this book is an enlightening resource for challenging stereotypical notions about Africa in lectures. It provides counterexamples from different parts of the world, particularly the West. Thus, I suggest this book to scholars and lecturers of politics, international relations, and African studies around the world to learn how to decolonize the curriculum.