The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly, 2nd EditionISBN: 978-0-7456-4437-0
Paperback
420 pages
July 2009, Polity
This is a Print-on-Demand title. It will be printed specifically to fill your order. Please allow an additional 10-15 days delivery time. The book is not returnable.
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Africans themselves speak of a ‘politics of the
belly’ – an expression that refers not only to the
necessities of survival but also to a complex array of cultural
representations, notably those of the ‘invisible’ world
of sorcery. The ‘politics of the belly’ attests to a
distinctively African trajectory of power that we need to
understand as part of a long-term historical development.
While acknowledging the insights of Western social scientists
from Weber to Foucault, Bayart never loses sight of the realities
of African politics and social life and he is careful to allow
African voices – from the ‘small boy’ in the
street to the ‘big men’ in the presidential palaces
– to speak for themselves.
This new edition of Bayart’s classic book includes a new
introduction on Africa in the world today.
This book has established itself as an indispensable text on the state and politics in Africa. It also provides a nuanced reading of what we have come to call ‘development’ and opens the way for a more general reflection on the invention of politics in African and Asian societies.