John Lonsdale - Böcker

A considerable revision in the understanding of the history of colonial Kenya and, more widely, colonialism in Africa.In the sister two volumes entitled Unhappy Valley 1 and Unhappy Valley 2, the authors investigate major themes including the conquest origins and subsequent development of the colonial state, the contradictory socialforces that articulated African societies to European capitalism, and the creation of new political communities and changing meanings of ethnicity in Africa, in the context of social differentiation and class formation. There issubstantial new work on the problems of Mau Mau and of wealth, poverty and civic virtue in Kikuyu political thought.The authors make a fresh contribution to a deeper historical understanding of contemporary Kenyan society and, in particular, of the British and Kikuyu origins of Mau Mau and the emergency of the 1950s.They also highlight some of the shortcomings of ideas about development, explore the limitations of narrowly structuralist Marxisttheory of the state, and reflect on the role of history in the future of Africa.North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEPWINNER OF THE TREVOR REESE MEMORIAL PRIZE 1994

Decades on from independence the role of Mau Mau still excites argument and controversy, not least in Kenya itself.More than fifty years after the declaration of the state of emergency the significance of Mau Mau is still debated. This collection combines retrospective overviews with research to achieve a multi-layered analysis of this topic.According to Professor Terence Ranger, Emeritus Rhodes Prfessor of Race Relations, University of Oxford: 'In some ways the historiography of Mau Mau is a supreme example not only of ambiguity and complexity but also of redemption of a topic that was once thought incapable of rational analysis.' North America: Ohio U Press; Kenya: EAEP

There is growing consensus in the development economics literature that ethnic diversity is a very significant factor in explaining Africa's poor economic performance. Ethnic Diversity and Economic Instability in Africa challenges this conventional wisdom. Drawing on the insights of historians, anthropologists and political scientists as well as development economists, this book questions whether ethnicity is the most useful organising principle by which to examine the economic development of Africa, arguing that it is a more fluid and contingent concept than economic models allow. Instead, the authors explore the actual experience of ethnicity in Africa and propose new methods of measuring ethnic diversity and inequalities. Finally some tentative conclusions are reached regarding appropriate policy reforms.

There is growing consensus in the development economics literature that ethnic diversity is a very significant factor in explaining Africa's poor economic performance. Ethnic Diversity and Economic Instability in Africa challenges this conventional wisdom. Drawing on the insights of historians, anthropologists and political scientists as well as development economists, this book questions whether ethnicity is the most useful organising principle by which to examine the economic development of Africa, arguing that it is a more fluid and contingent concept than economic models allow. Instead, the authors explore the actual experience of ethnicity in Africa and propose new methods of measuring ethnic diversity and inequalities. Finally some tentative conclusions are reached regarding appropriate policy reforms.

Today, the cohesion of multi-ethnic societies is at risk across the globe. Throughout history, to the present day, African countries have been facing this challenge. Historical inequalities and social division undermine cohesion and sow seeds of instability. How can Africa build a future where ethnic and other differences are a strength, a driver of growth and development, rather than sources of division and instability? Drawing together historians, economists and political scientists, each an authority on Africa, this book delivers a comprehensive study of that question through an exploration of the continent's divided histories, to understand where Africans stand now, and to reflect on how they might now work towards a more trusting society. Numerous case studies, statistical expositions and theoretical reflections bring conceptual clarity to the often poorly understood processes and contexts of social cohesion, not only in Africa, but across the developing and developed world.