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

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

Are there social, political and cultural factors in Africa which aspire to the continuation of patrimony and conspire against economic development? In association with the International African Institute North America: Indiana U Press

Africa Works: Disorder As Political Instrument (African Issues (Indiana University Press).)

Intl African Inst

Title first published in 2003. Responses to globalisation in politics and governance at national, regional and local levels of government in France and Norway are explored in this engaging study.

Political Leadership in a Global Age: The Experiences of France and Norway (Routledge Revivals)

Politics & Government

Routledge

Expressions of High Status: A Comparative Synthesis

Sociology

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

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

Books by Daloz, Jean-Pascal

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Daloz, Jean-Pascal. 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)

Africa Works: Disorder As Political Instrument (African Issues)

Africa Works: Disorder As Political Instrument (African Issues (Indiana University Press).)

Political Leadership in a Global Age: The Experiences of France and Norway (Routledge Revivals)

Expressions of High Status: A Comparative Synthesis