Overview

Thomas Sankara was one of Africa's most important anti-imperialist leaders of the late 20th Century. His declaration that fundamental socio-political change would require a 'certain amount of madness' drove the Burkinabe Revolution and resurfaced in the country's popular uprising in 2014. This book looks at Sankara's political philosophies and legacies and their relevance today. Analyses of his synthesis of Pan-Africanism and humanist Marxist politics, as well as his approach to gender, development, ecology and decolonisation offer new insights to Sankarist political philosophies. Critical evaluations of the limitations of the revolution examine his relationship with labour unions and other aspects of his leadership style. His legacy is revealed by looking at contemporary activists, artists and politicians who draw inspiration from Sankarist thought in social movement struggles today, from South Africa to Burkina Faso. In the 30th anniversary of his assassination, this book illustrates how Sankara's political praxis continues to provide lessons and hope for decolonisation struggles today.

Full Product Details

Author:   Amber Murrey ,  Horace G. Campbell (Syracuse University in New York) ,  Aziz Fall
Publisher:   Pluto Press
Imprint:   Pluto Press
Weight:   0.589kg
ISBN:  

9780745337579

ISBN 10:   0745337570
Pages:   400
Publication Date:   20 March 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Foreword by Horace G. Campbell Acknowledgements Introduction by Amber Murrey Part I: Life and Revolution 1. Military Coup, Popular Revolution or Militarised Revolution?: Contextualising the Revolutionary Ideological Courses of Thomas Sankara and the National Council of the Revolution - De-Valera N.Y.M. Botchway and Moussa Traore 2. The Perils of Non-Alignment: Thomas Sankara and the Cold War - Brian Peterson 3. Thomas Sankara and the Elusive Revolution - Leo Zeilig 4. When Visions Collide: Thomas Sankara, Trade Unions and the Revolution in Burkina Faso, 1983-1987 - Craig Phelan 5. Africa’s Sankara: On Pan-African Leadership - Amber Murrey 6. Who Killed Thomas Sankara? - Bruno Jaffré 7. ‘Incentivized’ Self-Adjustment: Reclaiming Sankara’s Revolutionary Austerity from Corporate Geographies of Neoliberal Erasure - Nicholas A. Jackson Part II: Political Philosophies 8. Madmen, Thomas Sankara and Decoloniality in Africa - Ama Biney 9. With the People: Sankara’s Humanist Marxism - Ernest Harsch 10. Thomas Sankara & Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem: The Untimely Deaths of Two New Generation African Visionaries - Patricia Daley 11. Women's Freedoms are the Heartbeat of Africa's Future: A Sankarian Imperative - Patricia McFadden 12. Re-Reading Sankara’s Philosophy for a Praxeology of Debt in Contemporary Times - Sakue-C. Yimovie 13. Sankara’s Political Ideas and Pan-African Solidarity: A Perspective for Africa’s Development? - Felix Kumah-Abiwu and Olusoji Alani Odeyemi 14. ‘Revolution and Women’s Liberation Go Together’: Thomas Sankara, Gender and the Burkina Faso Revolution - Namakula E. Mayanja Part III: Legacies 15. Balai Citoyen: A New Praxis of Citizen Fight with Sankarist Inspirations - Zakaria Soré 16. La Santé Avant Tout: Health Before Everything - T. D. Harper-Shipman 17. Social Movement Struggles and Political Transition in Burkina Faso - Bettina Engles 18. To Decolonize the World: Thomas Sankara and the ‘Last Colony’ in Africa - Patrick Delices 19. ‘Daring to Invent the Future’: Sankara’s Legacy and Contemporary Activism in South Africa - Levi Kabwato and Sarah Chiumbu Part IV: Contestations and Homages 20. The Academy as Contested Space: Disappearing Sankara from the ‘Acceptable Avant-Garde’ - Nicholas A. Jackson 21. Art and the Construction of a ‘Sankara Myth’: A Hero Trend in Contemporary Burkinabè Urban & Revolutionary Propaganda Art - Sophie Bodénès Cohen 22. Slanted Photography: Reflections on Sankara and My Peace Corps Experience in Burkina Faso - Celestina Agyekum 23. ‘We Are the Children of Sankara’: Memories as Weapons during the Burkinabe Uprisings of 2014 and 2015 - Fiona Dragstra Afterword by Aziz Salmone Fall Notes on Contributors Index

Reviews

'This book by a wide range of committed scholars, including, crucially, a significant number of African scholars, is a necessary and illuminating intervention. The Sankara that emerges here is more than 'Africa's Che Guevara', a man whose ideas and politics are 'rich with a thousand nuances' that distinguish them from other forms of Marxism and Pan-Africanism. Sankara comes alive in all his complexity' -- Sean Jacobs, Associate Professor of International Affairs at The New School and Founder and Editor, Africa is Country 'The legendary Thomas Sankara - hero, revolutionary leader, anti-imperialist - receives deserving analytical treatment from the most prominent radical voices here assembled for one the greatest sons of Africa. The book enhances our understanding of the pragmatism of politics, the rhetoric of revolutionary actions, and the resurgence of reactionary forces. A must read' -- Toyin Falola, Honorary Professor, University of Cape Town, University Distinguished Professor and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, The University of Texas at Austin

'The legendary Thomas Sankara - hero, revolutionary leader, anti-imperialist - receives deserving analytical treatment from the most prominent radical voices here assembled for one the greatest sons of Africa. The book enhances our understanding of the pragmatism of politics, the rhetoric of revolutionary actions, and the resurgence of reactionary forces. A must read' -- Toyin Falola, Honorary Professor, University of Cape Town, University Distinguished Professor and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, The University of Texas at Austin 'This book by a wide range of committed scholars, including, crucially, a significant number of African scholars, is a necessary and illuminating intervention. The Sankara that emerges here is more than 'Africa's Che Guevara', a man whose ideas and politics are 'rich with a thousand nuances' that distinguish them from other forms of Marxism and Pan-Africanism. Sankara comes alive in all his complexity' -- Sean Jacobs, Associate Professor of International Affairs at The New School and Founder and Editor, Africa is a Country

'This book by a wide range of committed scholars, including, crucially, a significant number of African scholars, is a necessary and illuminating intervention. The Sankara that emerges here is more than Africa's Che Guevara, a man whose ideas and politics are rich with a thousand nuances that distinguish them from other forms of Marxism and Pan-Africanism. Sankara comes alive in all his complexity' -- Sean Jacobs, Associate Professor of International Affairs at The New School and Founder and Editor, Africa is Country 'The legendary Thomas Sankara-hero, revolutionary leader, anti-imperialist-receives deserving analytical treatment from the most prominent radical voices here assembled for one the greatest sons of Africa... The book enhances our understanding of the pragmatism of politics, the rhetoric of revolutionary actions, and the resurgence of reactionary forces. A must read' -- Toyin Falola, Honorary Professor, University of Cape Town, University Distinguished Professor and Jacob and Frances Sanger Mossiker Chair in the Humanities, The University of Texas at Austin

Author Information

Amber Murrey is Postdoctoral Fellow in Sociology at The American University in Cairo, Egypt. Her award-winning research considers contemporary Pan-Africanism, resistance to neo-colonial violence, resource extraction and decolonisation. She has been published in a variety of academic journals, including Third World Quarterly, Political Geography, The Journal of Black Studies, The Postcolonialist and Capital and Class. She is the editor of A Certain Amount of Madness (Pluto, 2018).

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