The Horn of Africa as Common Homeland: The State and Self-Determination in the Era of Heightened Globalization, Leenco Lata, Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2004, pp. xi, 219.

The author of this book describes himself as a political activist who earned his credentials to write about self-determination in the Horn of Africa largely through his experiences in helping to form the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in Ethiopia in the 1970s. He also draws on two decades of political activities, work and travel throughout the entire region. The result is a text that is rich in “lived experiences.” Yet the author is a scholar as much as he is an activist and keen observer of events. Drawing on different theoretical perspectives and exploring alternative theories of state, nation, self-determination and democracy, Lata has produced a coherent and nuanced analysis of current state-building processes in the Horn of Africa.