Introduction

This study developed from a keen interest in the politics of contemporary Africa, especially in regard to the seemingly intractable problem of political dependence with its economic correlate of underdevelopment. The most interesting contemporary work on African political economy explores the link between economic underdevelopment and political dependence. Development and independence are seen as moving in the same direction in the long run, even if in the short run there appear to be inherent contradictions in their immediate needs in a concrete situation. The focus of this work emphasizes the internal contradictions’ (such as exist between the bureaucracy and the political leadership) within Tanzania rather than the external linkages.