January 6, 2008 (LPAC) - "Far from leaving behind democratic institutions and cultures, Britain bequeathed to its former colonies corrupted and corruptible governments," writes Africa specialist Caroline Elkins in the Washington Post today.

"Added to this was a distinctly colonial view of the rule of law, which saw the British leave behind legal systems that facilitated tyranny, oppression and poverty rather than open, accountable governments. And compounding these legacies was Britain's famous imperial policy of 'divide and rule,' playing one side off another." Elkins, associate professor of African studies at Harvard, wrote Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya (Henry Holt, 2005).