Mats Utas is a senior lecturer at Uppsala University, and formerly a senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute.

• Introduction: Bigmanity and network governance in African conflicts - By Mats UtasPart 1: Country case studies1. Informal political structures, resources and the Ugandan army; military entrepreneurialism in the Ugandan-Congolese borderland - Koen Vlassenroot and Sandrine Perot2. Big Man Business in the Borderland of Sierra Leone - Maya Mynster Christensen3. The politics of impersonation: Corps habillés, Nouchis, and subaltern Bigmanity in Côte d'Ivoire - Karel Arnaut4. Demobilized or remobilized? Liberia's remaining rebel structures in post-war security settings - Mariam Persson5. 'Castles in the sand': Informal networks and power brokers in the Northern Mali periphery - Morten BöåsPart 2: Thematic case studies6. Critical states and cocaine connections - By Henrik Vigh7. African Big Men and international criminal justice: the case of Sierra Leone - By Gerhard Anders8. Big Man bargaining in African conflicts - By Ilmari Käihkö9. Intermediaries of peace or agents of war: the role of ex-midlevel commanders in Big Man networks - By Anders Themnér10. The Big Men commanding conflict resources in Africa: the DRC case - By Ruben de Koning

This important collection of great articles on 'Bigmanity' will certainly become a central reference for different disciplines. Informal networks with 'big men' as their nodes, are certainly not the only game in town' in African polities and societies, but they clearly merit stronger attention. This book offers a multitude of entry points to this important topic.