Discovering Democracy in the Work of Frantz Fanon
1st Edition
Published on 2. February 2026
142 pages
978-1-040-76441-1 (ISBN)
Description
This book offers a unique re-reading of Frantz Fanon as an affirmative proponent of radical democracy. It is the discovery of a Fanon who is occupied with creation, not destruction, and who insists that people must retain their power and use it to manage their lives together. This aspect of Fanon is often overlooked as other dimensions, such as colonialism, race, and power, are at the forefront. The re-reading of Fanon staged in this book sets out to recover the important motif of democracy in Fanon as a crucial contribution to brokering social change and action in the face of democratic erosion today.
The book proposes democracy as a new, creative way forward. But it insists that we understand democracy radically, as a way of life in which we do not
destroy what we are against. Instead we create, together, new democratic lives in common. As such, it will be an important resource not only for researchers, students, and instructors in cultural and postcolonial studies but also social theory, contemporary sociology, American politics, and race and ethnicity studies.
The book proposes democracy as a new, creative way forward. But it insists that we understand democracy radically, as a way of life in which we do not
destroy what we are against. Instead we create, together, new democratic lives in common. As such, it will be an important resource not only for researchers, students, and instructors in cultural and postcolonial studies but also social theory, contemporary sociology, American politics, and race and ethnicity studies.
Reviews / Votes
"This short but powerful book short book makes an excellent and useful contribution to Fanon studies and to radical democracy studies. It is a timely and accessible book that will makes clear the importance of Fanon's ideas and practices for the world today."-- Nigel Gibson, Professor of Africana thought, Postcolonialism and African Studies, Emerson College, and author of Fanon: The Postcolonial Imagination (2003)
"This book adds new perspectives on the relevance of democracy in Fanon's work and the relationship between the "destructive" and "democratic" Fanon. It also goes beyond mainstream scholarship on liberal democracy by highlighting radical understandings of democracy "as a way of life in which people retain their power and use it to directly manage their affairs themselves" in Fanon's revolutionary writings and actions. A key feature of this book is its emphasis on how Fanon's ideas and practices can contribute to reinventing democracy for the benefit of all people around the world, especially the damned, unheard, and colonized of the earth - a message that will be crucial for us to hear in today's climate."
-- Sean Taudin Chabot, Professor of Sociology, Eastern Washington University
More details
Edition
1. Auflage
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
1 Halftones, black and white; 1 Illustrations, black and white
File size
2,24 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-040-76441-1 (9781040764411)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Mark Purcell
Discovering Democracy in the Work of Frantz Fanon
Book
approx. 02/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€210.60
Not yet published
Mark Purcell
Discovering Democracy in the Work of Frantz Fanon
Book
approx. 02/2026
1st Edition
Routledge
€63.90
Not yet published
Person
Mark Purcell is Professor in the Department of Urban Design & Planning at the University of Washington, USA, where he researches urban politics, political theory, social movements, and democracy. He is the author of The Deep-Down Delight of Democracy (2013), Recapturing Democracy (2008) and numerous articles in journals including International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Urban Geography, Environment and Planning, Antipode, Urban Studies, Political Geography, Review of International Political Economy, and Planning Theory.
Content
1. Introduction 2. My Project of Democracy 3. Demos and Kratos 4. Hobbes and the Modern State 5. Locke and His Liberals 6. Other Artificial People 7. The Project of Democracy 8. Deleuze, Guattari, and Desire 9. Democratic Desire and Democratic Practice 10. The Desire to Manage Our Affairs Ourselves 11. The Desire to Create 12. It's Just Us (and Our Desire) 13. A Disempowered Left 14. The Critical Left Desires Destruction 15. Marx (and Marxism) 16. Hegel 17. Plato 18. The Critical Left (Maybe) Desires Self-Management Too 19. Nietzsche's Diagnosis 20. The Major Fanon 21. Theoretical Interlude: Major and Minor 22. A Very Brief Biography 23. Fanon's Desire to Destroy 24. Anti-Colonialism 25. The Wretched of the Earth (Sartre's Preface and Fanon's Chapter 1) 26. The Rest of The Wretched of the Earth 27. Beyond The Wretched of the Earth 28. Fanon's Desire to Destroy Colonialism in Context 29. Psychiatric Practice 30. Anti-Racism 31. Psychiatric Work 32. Black Skin, White Masks 33. Fanon's Encounter with Negritude 34. The Minor Fanon 35. Fanon's Desire to Create 36. The Desire to Create in the Work on Colonialism 37. The Desire to Create in the Work on Psychotherapy 38. The Desire to Create in the Work on Race 39. Conclusion 40. Figure 1: The Frontispiece of Leviathan
