Understanding politics in nations other than your own is a perilous exercise. If you were to read two newspaper articles on the same topic but from different countries, you would likely find two very different interpretations of the same event. But how we think about what is written in our own country seems somehow less distorted, less wrong. So which side is right? And from what reference point can we begin to compare the two? Culture Troubles is a systematic reevaluation of the role of culture in political analysis. Here, Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz contend that it is unwise to compare different societies without taking into account culture, which in their interpretation is not a system of values, but rather a system of inherited meanings and symbols. This cultural approach, they argue, can attribute meaning to political comparison, and they outline the shape of that approach, one that draws from an eclectic range of sources. Illustrating the sharpness and acuity of their methods, they proceed with a comparative study of the state and political representation in three very different nations—France, Nigeria, and Sweden—to untangle the many ways that culture informs our understanding of political events. As a result, Culture Troubles offers a rational starting point from which we may begin to understand foreign politics.

Culture Troubles: Politics and the Interpretation of Meaning

Politics & Social Sciences

Chabal, Patrick

Daloz, Jean-Pascal

Social Sciences

University of Chicago Press

Understanding politics in nations other than your own is a perilous exercise. If you were to read two newspaper articles on the same topic but from different countries, you would likely find two very different interpretations of the same event. But how we think about what is written in our own country seems somehow less distorted, less wrong. So which side is right? And from what reference point can we begin to compare the two? Culture Troubles is a systematic reevaluation of the role of culture in political analysis. Here, Patrick Chabal and Jean-Pascal Daloz contend that it is unwise to compare different societies without taking into account culture, which in their interpretation is not a system of values, but rather a system of inherited meanings and symbols. This cultural approach, they argue, can attribute meaning to political comparison, and they outline the shape of that approach, one that draws from an eclectic range of sources. Illustrating the sharpness and acuity of their methods, they proceed with a comparative study of the state and political representation in three very different nations—France, Nigeria, and Sweden—to untangle the many ways that culture informs our understanding of political events. As a result, Culture Troubles offers a rational starting point from which we may begin to understand foreign politics.

Africa Works: Disorder As Political Instrument (African Issues)

How do political systems in Africa work? Is the "real" business of politics taking place outside the scope of standard political analysis, in an "informal" or more personalised setting? How are the prospects for reform and renewal in African societies affected by the emerging elites? Is "modernisation" in Africa different? Are there within African countries social, political and cultural factors which aspire to the continuation of patrimony and conspire against economic development?
Relations of power between rulers and the ruled continue to inform the role of the state and the expectations of the newly emphasized civil society. The question of identity, the resurgence of ethnicity and its attendant "tribal" politics, the growing importance of African religions and the increasing resort to extreme and often ritualised violence in situations of civil disorder, point to a process of "re-traditionalising" in African societies
African Issues, edited by Alex de Waal February 1999 192 pp 5 x 8 Index

Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument (African Issues)

Business & Money

Economics

Indiana University Press

A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa

"... useful, timely, and important... a good and informative book on the Lusophone countries, Portuguese colonialism, and postcolonial influences." ―Phyllis Martin, Indiana University
"This book, produced by the obvious―and distinguished―corps of country specialists... fills a real gap in both state-level and 'regional' (broadly defined) studies of contemporary Africa." ―Norrie MacQueen, University of Dundee
Although the five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa that gained independence in 1974/75―Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé e Príncipe―differ from each other in many ways, they share a history of Portuguese rule going back to the 15th century, which has left a mark to this day. Patrick Chabal and his co-authors assess the nature of the Portuguese legacy, using a twofold approach. In Part I, three analytical, thematic chapters by Chabal examine what the five countries have in common and how they differ from the rest of Africa. In Part II, individual chapters by leading specialists, each devoted to a specific country, survey the histories of those countries since independence. The book places the postcolonial experience of the Lusophone countries within the context of their precolonial and colonial past and compares and contrasts their experience with that of non-Lusophone African states. The result is a comprehensive, readable, and up-to-date text and reference work on the evolution of postcolonial Portuguese-speaking Africa.

History

Newitt, Malyn

Birmingham, David

Forrest, Joshua

Africa

How do political systems in Africa work? Is the real business of politics taking place outside the scope of standard political analysis, in an informal, more-personalized setting? How are the prospect: for reform and renewal in African societies affected by the emerging elite? Is modernization in Africa different? Are there within African countries social, political, and cultural factors which abet the continuation of patrimony and conspire against economic development?Relations of power between rulers and the ruled continue to influence the role of the state and the expectations of the newly emphasized civil society. The question of identity, the resurgence of ethnicity and its attendant tribal politics, the growing importance of African religions, and the increasing tendency to resort to extreme and often ritualized violence in situations of civil disorder point to a process of re-traditionalizing in African societies.

Indiana Univ. Pr

"... useful, timely, and important... a good and informative book on the Lusophone countries, Portuguese colonialism, and postcolonial influences." —Phyllis Martin, Indiana University
"This book, produced by the obvious—and distinguished—corps of country specialists... fills a real gap in both state-level and 'regional' (broadly defined) studies of contemporary Africa." —Norrie MacQueen, University of Dundee
Although the five Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa that gained independence in 1974/75—Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé e Príncipe—differ from each other in many ways, they share a history of Portuguese rule going back to the 15th century, which has left a mark to this day. Patrick Chabal and his co-authors assess the nature of the Portuguese legacy, using a twofold approach. In Part I, three analytical, thematic chapters by Chabal examine what the five countries have in common and how they differ from the rest of Africa. In Part II, individual chapters by leading specialists, each devoted to a specific country, survey the histories of those countries since independence. The book places the postcolonial experience of the Lusophone countries within the context of their precolonial and colonial past and compares and contrasts their experience with that of non-Lusophone African states. The result is a comprehensive, readable, and up-to-date text and reference work on the evolution of postcolonial Portuguese-speaking 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.

Power in Africa: An Essay in Political Interpretation

Sociology

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

'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.

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.

Amilcar Cabral: Revolutionary Leadership and People's War (African Studies, Series Number 37)

Biographies & Memoirs

Leaders & Notable People

Cambridge University Press

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Chabal, Patrick. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Chabal, Patrick

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Chabal, Patrick. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Culture Troubles: Politics and the Interpretation of Meaning

Culture Troubles: Politics and the Interpretation of Meaning

Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument (African Issues)

A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa

Africa Works: Disorder As Political Instrument (African Issues)

A History of Postcolonial Lusophone Africa

Power in Africa: An Essay in Political Interpretation

Power in Africa: An Essay in Political Interpretation

Power in Africa: An Essay in Political Interpretation

Amilcar Cabral: Revolutionary Leadership and People's War (African Studies, Series Number 37)