Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism

(Paperback)

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In analyzing the obstacles to democratization in post- independence Africa, Mahmood Mamdani offers a bold, insightful account of colonialism's legacy--a bifurcated power that mediated racial domination through tribally organized local authorities, reproducing racial identity in citizens and ethnic identity in subjects. Many writers have understood

Reviews

"A compelling historical reconstruction. [A]n analysis distinguished by its utter respect for the specificity of historical experience."Irene Grendzier,The Nation
"Mahmood Mamdani's powerful new volume challenges the established wisdom of Africanists concerning the European colonial impact on Africa and Africa's postcolonial settlement. [I]mpressive."Robert L. Tignor,American Historical Review
"This book explores a provocative and original thesis about African politics, with the vigor and rigor that readers of Professor Mamdani's earlier work will expect. Anyone who cares to understand the state in contemporary Africaanyone who wants to understand the current situation on the continent at allwould do well to read this new book. Whether you agree or disagree, this is a book to learn from."Kwame Anthony Appiah
"Mahmood Mamdani is one of the most original thinkers writing about Africa today. His skills in comparative analysis and conceptual refinement are strikingly illustrated in this volume."Ali A. Mazrui, Institute for Global Studies, SUNYBinghamton
"Citizen and Subjectis going to be a verynecessarybook. Mamdani's exposition, of a rare clarity, offers us a broadness of vision based upon experience and knowledge always informed by his profound perceptiveness."Breyten Breytenbach, South African writer

Author Bio

Mahmood Mamdani is the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government in the Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies Department at Columbia University. His many books include Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror.