Matthias Rompel is teaching Development Studies as Honorary Professor at Giessen University, Germany. He has been working as a development professional in Africa for the last 20 years. He is the Head of the Southern Africa Division of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the German governments international cooperation agency.Reimer Gronemeyer is Professor of Sociology at Giessen University. He has researched and written on Africa for over forty years, and has worked as a consultant for agencies including GIZ and the Red Cross.

• List of illustrations About the contributors Acknowledgements Introduction - Matthias Rompel and Reimer Gronemeyer1. Malawi five decades after independence: failed state or latecomer? - Matthias Rompel2. Malawi’s rocky route to democratic consolidation - Heiko Meinhardt3. The macroeconomic and political foundations of endemic poverty in Malawi - Ronald Mangani4. Public financial management and its linkages with the broader governance reform agenda: the snail pace of reform - Barbara Dutzler5. Religion and politics in Malawi: a critical stock-taking - Martin Ott6. Maize and malnutrition in Malawi: food crisis, farmers’ knowledge, and climate change - Michaela Fink, Reimer Gronemeyer, and Jonas Metzger7. Agriculture, biofuels, and strategies for food security in Malawi - Lameck Mwewa8. Tourism development in Malawi: rankings and realities - Adrienne HarrisIndex

It is no small feat for a book to bring together the expertise of internationally renowned sociologists, economists, political scientists, and geographers, of specialists in fields like public administration and governance, public health, education, natural resource management, tourism, and development for the sake of compiling an in-depth analysis of the social, political, and economic conditions of a given country. The present volume accomplishes just that. Guided by deep concern for a perpetual state of poverty that is all-too-often underrepresented, the authors formulate new questions and offer new insights into the challenging past, present, and future of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in early 21st century Africa.

Matthias Rompel is teaching Development Studies as Honorary Professor at Giessen University, Germany. He has been working as a development professional in Africa for the last 20 years. He is the Head of the Southern Africa Division of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the German governments international cooperation agency.Reimer Gronemeyer is Professor of Sociology at Giessen University. He has researched and written on Africa for over forty years, and has worked as a consultant for agencies including GIZ and the Red Cross.

• List of illustrations About the contributors Acknowledgements Introduction - Matthias Rompel and Reimer Gronemeyer1. Malawi five decades after independence: failed state or latecomer? - Matthias Rompel2. Malawi’s rocky route to democratic consolidation - Heiko Meinhardt3. The macroeconomic and political foundations of endemic poverty in Malawi - Ronald Mangani4. Public financial management and its linkages with the broader governance reform agenda: the snail pace of reform - Barbara Dutzler5. Religion and politics in Malawi: a critical stock-taking - Martin Ott6. Maize and malnutrition in Malawi: food crisis, farmers’ knowledge, and climate change - Michaela Fink, Reimer Gronemeyer, and Jonas Metzger7. Agriculture, biofuels, and strategies for food security in Malawi - Lameck Mwewa8. Tourism development in Malawi: rankings and realities - Adrienne HarrisIndex

It is no small feat for a book to bring together the expertise of internationally renowned sociologists, economists, political scientists, and geographers, of specialists in fields like public administration and governance, public health, education, natural resource management, tourism, and development for the sake of compiling an in-depth analysis of the social, political, and economic conditions of a given country. The present volume accomplishes just that. Guided by deep concern for a perpetual state of poverty that is all-too-often underrepresented, the authors formulate new questions and offer new insights into the challenging past, present, and future of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in early 21st century Africa.

Matthias Rompel is teaching Development Studies as Honorary Professor at Giessen University, Germany. He has been working as a development professional in Africa for the last 20 years. He is the Head of the Southern Africa Division of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the German governments international cooperation agency.Reimer Gronemeyer is Professor of Sociology at Giessen University. He has researched and written on Africa for over forty years, and has worked as a consultant for agencies including GIZ and the Red Cross.

• List of illustrations About the contributors Acknowledgements Introduction - Matthias Rompel and Reimer Gronemeyer1. Malawi five decades after independence: failed state or latecomer? - Matthias Rompel2. Malawi’s rocky route to democratic consolidation - Heiko Meinhardt3. The macroeconomic and political foundations of endemic poverty in Malawi - Ronald Mangani4. Public financial management and its linkages with the broader governance reform agenda: the snail pace of reform - Barbara Dutzler5. Religion and politics in Malawi: a critical stock-taking - Martin Ott6. Maize and malnutrition in Malawi: food crisis, farmers’ knowledge, and climate change - Michaela Fink, Reimer Gronemeyer, and Jonas Metzger7. Agriculture, biofuels, and strategies for food security in Malawi - Lameck Mwewa8. Tourism development in Malawi: rankings and realities - Adrienne HarrisIndex

It is no small feat for a book to bring together the expertise of internationally renowned sociologists, economists, political scientists, and geographers, of specialists in fields like public administration and governance, public health, education, natural resource management, tourism, and development for the sake of compiling an in-depth analysis of the social, political, and economic conditions of a given country. The present volume accomplishes just that. Guided by deep concern for a perpetual state of poverty that is all-too-often underrepresented, the authors formulate new questions and offer new insights into the challenging past, present, and future of Malawi, one of the poorest countries in early 21st century Africa.