Description
Book SynopsisIn The Politics of Evil, Clifton Crais provides a unique interpretation of South African history and a fresh approach to the study of power, culture and resistance in the modern world. Encompassing all of South Africa's history in his analysis, Crais examines the formation of an authoritarian political order and the complex ways people understood and resisted the colonial state. He explores state formation as a cultural and political process as well as a moral problem and he looks at indigenous concepts of power, authority and evil, analysing how they shaped cross-cultural encounters and the making of a colonial order. Apartheid represented one of the great evils of the twentieth century. This book reveals how the victims of apartheid understood the triumph of this evil in their lives as they elaborated rich and at times violent visions of a just world. Professor Crais concludes by looking at political transition, the challenges to creating a durable democracy and the persistence of ev
Trade Review"The Politics of Evil is a pathbreaking book, sure to generate discussion among historians of South Africa." History: Reviews of New Books
"This innovative new book broadens South African political history in vital ways by allowing historical African ideas and practices to help determine what constitutes politics. The result is a vivid exploration of the cross-cultural production of an authoritarian colonial order. The value of The Politics of Evil lies in the [Clifton Crais's] determination to ground this rich political imagination in the dynamism of material life. Meticulously researched, convincingly argued, and engagingly written, The Politics of Evil will, no doubt, stand as a landmark study in South African history and the history of colonial politics more broadly." Julie Livingston, Rutgers University
"[T]his is a compelling meditation on several of the key forces that shaped the history of South Africa's Eastern Cape--the Ciskei and the Transkei.... Highly recommended." Choice
Table of ContentsIntroduction; Part I. Cultures of Conquest: 1. The death of hope; 2. Ethnographies of state; 3. Rationalities and rule; Part II. States of Emergency: 4. Prophecies of nation; 5. Government acts; 6. Conflict in Qumbu; 7. The men of the mountain; 8. Flights of the lightning bird; Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography; Index.
