Looking for the Political in Africa

How should we make sense of the political dynamics in Africa today? Which point of view should we adopt to grasp the diversity of what is happening on the ground and in the day-to-day reality of power relations and social practices? To what extent do structural determinants articulate with individual practices and political imaginaries? In answer to these questions, Looking for the Political in Africa provides a captivating, multifaceted portrait of the many ways in which power relations and the daily lives of individuals are negotiated all around the African continent, in places that are often discrete and far removed from the classic arenas of politics. This book brings together contributions from fourteen distinguished social scientists from a wide range of disciplines and geographical backgrounds. Without neglecting the question of the state, international institutions, or globalized capitalism, each chapter pays particular attention to the intimacy of actors, to issues of gender and age, to their online engagement, as well as to the major dynamics of ethnicity, militarization, religion, migration and finance, showing that the political cannot be reduced to politics. They draw on long-term empirical research to present a synthetic picture and offer conclusions that go beyond the continent's limits and feed into broader intellectual projects. In doing so, Looking for the Political in Africa builds an innovative picture of political fields across the continent, underlining the historical depth of current dynamics and highlighting both the transformations of African societies and the ways in which these societies are studied. Oxford Studies in African Politics and International Relations is a series for scholars and students working on African politics and International Relations and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on contemporary developments in African political science, political economy, and International Relations, such as electoral politics, democratization, decentralization, gender and political representation, the political impact of natural resources, the dynamics and consequences of conflict, comparative political thought, and the nature of the continent's engagement with the East and West. Comparative and mixed methods work is particularly encouraged. Case studies are welcomed but should demonstrate the broader theoretical and empirical implications of the study and its wider relevance to contemporary debates. The focus of the series is on sub-Saharan Africa, although proposals that explain how the region engages with North Africa and other parts of the world are of interest. Series Editors: Nic Cheeseman (University of Birmingham), Peace Medie (University of Bristol), and Ricardo Soares de Oliveira (University of Oxford). Chapter 6 of this work is available under the terms of a CC BY-SA 4.0 International open access licence. This part of the work is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF from OUP and selected open access locations.