I. William Zartman, is director of African studies at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. William Mark Habeeb, formerly director of programs and research at the Middle East Institute, is an international economic and political consultant based in Washington, D.C.

• Preface -- History and Politics -- The Historical Context -- The Second Stage of State Building -- Political Parties -- Society and Economics -- Alienation of Urban Youth -- Islam and the State -- Demographic Pressures and Agrarian Dynamics -- Economic Crisis and Policy Reform in the 1980s -- Local Societies -- Foreign Relations -- The Arab Maghribi Union and the Prospects for North African Unity -- The Maghribi States and the European Community -- The United States and North Africa -- 15/21: The Maghrib into the Future -- Political Parties in North Africa -- Economic and Demographic Tables