Patrick Chabal

Jean-Pascal Daloz

Disorder as Political Instrument

Africa Works

Ulf Engel

Léo De Haan

To stimulate the exploration of African initiative and creativity beyond immediate socio-economic and political circumstances this book demonstrates that societies in Africa have always showed the ability to negotiate whatever constraining ecological, economic and political circumstances they faced.

African Alternatives

literatura e nacionalidade

Vozes moçambicanas

Leo de Haan

In this radical new book, Patrick Chabal reveals how the future of the West is now inextricably linked to that of the non-West. The rise of the economic power of China and other Asian countries as well as urgent environmental issues now force the West to think in new ways about how to best face the future. This is an issue which runs far deeper than present debates on the decline of the West might suggest. The book argues that the postcolonial challenge, from regions such as Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as the influence of citizens of non-Western origins now living in the West have combined to expose the limits of Western rationality - that is, the theories and concepts we currently use to understand and act upon the world. Discussing such provocative questions as 'Is it a good idea to build mosques in Europe?' and 'Is Beckham the new black icon?', Chabal explores the growing failure of Western social thought to explain many of our most pressing domestic social and economic issues. He also discusses contentious issues in international relations, such as the spread of democracy and the protection of human rights. He concludes that, ultimately, what the West needs is not more and better theory but an entirely new way of thinking - one that will put an end to its current deep-seated conceit.

Western Rationality after Postcolonialism

The End of Conceit

Nuno Vidal

Multiparty elections in 2008 will, it is hoped, cement a transition towards peaceful stability in Angola, which has suffered from over forty years of violent civil war. This book looks at Angola's difficult past and then discuss its move away from hegemonic domination towards a multiparty political system and a civil society.

The Weight of History

Angola

In this radical book, Patrick Chabal reveals how the future of the West is now inextricably linked to that of the non-West. He argues that the postcolonial challenge exposes the limitation of Western social thought to explain many pressing social and economic issues, domestic and global. The End of Conceit concludes that, ultimately, what the West needs is not more and better theory but an entirely new way of thinking - one that will put an end to its current deep-seated conceit.

Western Rationality After Postcolonialism

End of Conceit

This text tells the story of Amilcar Cabral, who, as head of the PAIGC, Guinea-Bissau's nationalist movement, became one of Africa's foremost revolutionary leaders. He led Guinea-Bissau' nationalists to political and military success over a colonial power.

Revolutionary Leadership and People's War

Amilcar Cabral

This book, first published in 1983 by Cambridge University Press and now issued for the first time in paperback with a new preface, tells the story of Amilcar Cabral who, as head of PAIGC, Guinea-Bissau's nationalist movement, became one of Africa's foremost revolutionary leaders.In less than twenty years of active political life, Cabral led Guinea-Bissau's nationalists to the most complete political and military success ever achieved by an African political movement against a colonial power. At the time of his death in 1973, months before Guinea-Bissau became independent, his influence extended well beyond the Lusophone world and Africa. Friends and foes alike admired his political acumen and skills and saw in him a potential leader of a non-aligned movement. His writings have shown him to be a sophisticated analyst of the social, economic, and political factors which have affected and continue to affect the developing world.At a time when there is a general sense of despondency about the future of Africa, as well as cynicism about its political elites, it is instructive to be reminded that the continent has produced a political leader of Cabral's caliber

Amílcar Cabral

It is hoped that the multiparty elections of 2007 will bring about a political system in Angola that will ensure the country's sustained economic and social development. Angola is just emerging from almost three decades of civil war, and its abundant natural resources and booming oil sector could lay the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity and cement the transition towards political stability. But are these hopes realistic? Angola provides a thorough introduction to the history of Angola and analyzes its economic, political, and social evolution since independence. Its contributors offer incisive, original, and contemporary interpretations of one of the most complex countries in Africa.

Toby Green

Since 1998 Guinea-Bissau has suffered a series of coups which outside analysts have linked to its emergence as West Africa's first "narco-state". Yet what does this mean for the country and the nature of the state in postcolonial Africa? What links Guinea-Bissau's instability with questions ofwider regional and global security? What would a stable government look like in Guinea-Bissau, and what are the conditions for its achievement?The book constitutes the first synthetic attempt to grasp the consequences of the crisis in Guinea-Bissau. It fills a void in scholarship and policy analysis with a synthesis of both what has happened in the country and the wider implications for postcolonial African nation-building. With thecurrent crisis in Mali, and rising interest among geopolitical actors in the region's stability, the contributors offer timely reflections on the causes and consequences of instability in one of Africa's most fragile states. Together they demonstrate how the undermining of the ideologicalconstruction of post-colonial African states derives from the historical fragilities and geopolitical conflicts which are acted out there. This is also the last book that Patrick Chabal, a significant scholar in contemporary political theory related to Africa, worked on.

Micro-State To 'Narco-State'

Guinea-Bissau

Paper for the research workshop Africa and the great powers : challenges and policy responses, Copenhagen, April 22-23, 2002-04-16, organized by Centre for Development Research.

Power in Africa Reconsidered

Carolyn Brown

David Anderson

This collection of essays brings together historians and political scientists from Britain, France and the United States, who, from widely differing perspectives and traditions, have been involved in the process of rethinking African politics. They present here the outline of a new approach, grounded in universal political theory rather than on theories of Third World political development. This seeks to integrate the history of Africa (from pre- to post-colonial) with concepts of political theory as they have been applied historically to the analysis of Europe and America. The book addresses a wide audience: students of African history and politics, of Third World development and of political theory.

Political Domination in Africa

'This book will rightfully head many a reading list...'C.Allen, British Book News Power in Africa casts a fresh look at contemporary Black African politics. It reviews the merits and failings of existing interpretations of Africa's post-colonial society and offers a new approach to its understanding. It has two main aims. First, to present a comparative conceptual framework which places Africa's politics within its appropriate historical context. Second, to offer an explanation of what is actually happening in Africa - beyond the clichs of a dark continent perennially in crisis.

An Essay in Political Interpretation

Power in Africa

The question usually asked about Africa is: 'why is it going wrong?' Is the continent still suffering from the ravages of colonialism? Or is it the victim of postcolonial economic exploitation, poor governance and lack of aid? Whatever the answer, increasingly the result is poverty and violence. In Africa: The Politics of Suffering and Smiling Patrick Chabal approaches this question differently by reconsidering the role of theory in African politics. Chabal discusses the limitations of existing political theories of Africa and proposes a different starting point; arguing that political thinking ought to be driven by the need to address the immediacy of everyday life and death. How do people define who they are? Where do they belong? What do they believe? How do they struggle to survive and improve their lives? What is the impact of illness and poverty? In doing so, Chabal proposes a radically different way of looking at politics in Africa and illuminates the ways ordinary people 'suffer and smile'. This is a highly original addition to Zed's groundbreaking World Political Theories series.

The Politics of Suffering and Smiling

Africa

A comprehensive history of the five African Lusophone countries - Angola, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and Sao Tome e Principe - since they became independent from Portugal in 1974-5.

A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa

A systematic re-evaluation of the role of culture in political analysis. The authors' contentions are that it is unwise to compare different societies without taking into account culture(s); that a cultural approach contributes meaning to political comparison; and that conceptual frameworks can be based on a theoretically eclectic approach.

Politics and the Interpretation of Meaning

Culture Troubles

This work examines the Portuguese and crioulo literatures of the five African Portuguese-speaking countries: Angola; Cape Verde; Guinea Bissau; Mozambique; and Sao Tome and Principe. It offers an introduction to the cultural and historical context within which literature developed in Lusophone Africa, as well as a discussion of the prose and poetry published by the writers from these five countries since independence. As such, the volume is intended not only as a textbook for the student of the literatures of the five Lusophone countries, but also as a cultural and intellectual foundation for the specialist reader with an interest in the former Portuguese colonial empire.

Patrick Chabal

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