There has been some controversy as to the origins of the Asafo, the patrilineal military bands of the coastal Akan, and especially of the Fante, in Ghana. One view holds that the asafo system is indigenous to Fante society, the other that its development is in some way connected with the presence of Europeans on the coast from the end of the fifteenth century onwards. After an examination of the nature of the asafo system and of its patrilinealism, historical evidence relating to the asafo, the manceroes (young men), and town wards in Fante society is set out in some detail. It is concluded that the asafo system is probably indigenous in its origins, but that its development, particularly on the coast and among the Fante especially, has been much influenced by situations resulting from contact with Europeans.

Opening ParagraphSociological interest, like economic growth, is subject to uneven development. While Asante society has been studied in detail by Rattray (1923, 1927, and 1929), Busia (1949), and Lystad (1958), there has been relatively little research on the Fante of southern Ghana, and even less on the Fante asafo (the traditional military companies to which one belongs through the father's line). Looking back at De Graft Johnson's article on the Fante asafo, published in Africa in 1932, one realizes that even after three decades it remains, with the possible exception of Chapter VI of Christensen's monograph (1954), the only significant study devoted to the asafo. Yet, although valuable, these accounts are unfortunately open to criticism, in terms of both factual description and interpretation. De Graft Johnson's article is not adequate because it omitted some important features of the asafo, not likely to have been incorporated into the system after the author had collected his material. It also lacked balance through over-reliance on information collected from Cape Coast which, according to the author, provided a good model of the asafo (De Graft Johnson, op. cit., p. 307). While it failed to take note of several notable features of the asafo in inland states, it also neglected to underline some important details of the asafo which are observable even in Cape Coast. Christensen, on the other hand, collected his material from three Fante states, Abura, Anomabu, and Esiam, and his treatment of the asafo is, therefore, much more thorough. But he, as will be made clear presently, did not touch upon some salient aspects of the Fante asafo.

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This year the World Congress was attended by large delegations from Eastern Europe, and 88 from the Soviet Union alone. Some of these could speak English and French, and could thus exchange experiences and opinions outside the conference rooms. The new interest of Communist countries in the International Sociological Association and its activities was appropriately reflected in the election of a Polish sociologist as President of the next World Congress.

Africa and Globalization* ANSUDATTA Globalization has become the buzz of 'respectable', if snooty, ivory tower talk often couched in esoteric phraseology, or adulated pretentiously in flamboyant addresses at international forums. Yet the term seems to have several referents, with a yawning divide between those waxing eloquent over its 'virtues' and the 'noisy' demonstrators of Seattle, Davos, and New York. This essay has two objectives. It aims, in the flrst place, to examine the extent to which Africa has been incorporated in the global system and progressed along the development path, said to be a complementary and ancillary aspect of globalization. The second objective is to probe the element of reciprocity in the globalization process. Globalization shapes Africa like any other continent. But is this a one-way movement? Does not Africa have a role to play in globalization, to give the process its own distinctive imprint, a direction to suit the needs of millions of Africans? If such a thing has not been happening, what could be the reasons? The essay will explore the importance of the factors that are said to hamper Africa's potential impact on globalization. Some of the issues surrounding pan-Africanism, an instrument to project African identity on the international scene, are subjected to an in-depth analysis in the exercise. Africa's futegration into the World System The UNDP' s Human Development Report of 1999 seeks to set out the distinctive features of all that is currently subsumed under 'globalization'-new markets, new tools, new actors, and new rules. Under new markets should be mentioned the uninterrupted operation of foreign exchange and capital markets, the daily turnover of which is