Rocco W. Ronza (2024), L’Africa australe. Il Sudafrica e i suoi vicini. Bologna: Il Mulino

Abstract

This review examines Rocco Ronza’s recent volume on the political history of Southern Africa, highlighting its contribution to the understanding of a region too often treated as a peripheral or uniform space in global debates. The book reconstructs the historical roots of institutional development, inequality, and nation-building, from settler colonialism and imperial expansion to post-apartheid transitions and contemporary geopolitical realignments. By combining long-term structural analysis with focused thematic boxes on key figures, concepts, and events, Ronza provides a concise yet analytically rich account of how Southern Africa’s political orders have emerged, consolidated, and adapted over time.