
The Politics of Custom
Chiefship, Capital, and the State in Contemporary Africa
University of Chicago Press
Published on 8. March 2018
Book
Hardback
368 pages
978-0-226-51076-7 (ISBN)
Description
How are we to explain the resurgence of customary chiefs in contemporary Africa? Rather than disappearing with the tide of modernity, as many expected, indigenous sovereigns are instead a rising force, often wielding substantial power and legitimacy despite major changes in the workings of the global political economy in the post-Cold War era-changes in which they are themselves deeply implicated.
This pathbreaking volume, edited by anthropologists John L. Comaroff and Jean Comaroff, explores the reasons behind the increasingly assertive politics of custom in many corners of Africa. Chiefs come in countless guises-from university professors through cosmopolitan businessmen to subsistence farmers-but, whatever else they do, they are a critical key to understanding the tenacious hold that "traditional" authority enjoys in the late modern world. Together the contributors explore this counterintuitive chapter in Africa's history and, in so doing, place it within the broader world-making processes of the twenty-first century.
This pathbreaking volume, edited by anthropologists John L. Comaroff and Jean Comaroff, explores the reasons behind the increasingly assertive politics of custom in many corners of Africa. Chiefs come in countless guises-from university professors through cosmopolitan businessmen to subsistence farmers-but, whatever else they do, they are a critical key to understanding the tenacious hold that "traditional" authority enjoys in the late modern world. Together the contributors explore this counterintuitive chapter in Africa's history and, in so doing, place it within the broader world-making processes of the twenty-first century.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 23 mm
Width: 16 mm
Thickness: 3 mm
Weight
595 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-51076-7 (9780226510767)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Comaroff John L. Comaroff | Comaroff Jean Comaroff
Politics of Custom
Chiefship, Capital, and the State in Contemporary Africa
E-Book
03/2018
1st Edition
University of Chicago Press
€46.99
Available for download