Overview

"Essential reading for scholars of Sudan, of Africa and of local governance, as well as policy-makers and practitioners, this study explores chiefly authority in South Sudan from its historical origins and evolution under colonial,postcolonial and military rule, to its current roles and value in the newly independent country. The creation of Africa's newest state, South Sudan, in 2011, involved national and international recognition of ""traditional authorities"", or chiefs. Chiefship has often been misunderstood to be a timeless or non-state institution, but this book argues for the mutual constitution of chiefship and the state since the mid-nineteenth century, based on research in the vicinity of three towns. The book also demonstrates that while South Sudanese towns have previously been analysed as centres of alien state power, people came to the urban ""frontier"" to seek the resources, regulation and justice of the state. Located conceptually - and sometimes spatially - upon this frontier, chiefshipbecame central to local relations with the state, and to state definitions of the local. The book thus addresses broader debates over the role of traditional authorities and the nature of urban-rural and state-society relations inAfrica. Cherry Leonardi is a Senior Lecturer in African History at Durham University, a former course director of the Rift Valley Institute's Sudan course, and a member of the council of the British Institute in Eastern Africa Published in association with the British Institute in Eastern Africa."

Full Product Details

Author:   Cherry Leonardi
Publisher:   James Currey
Imprint:   James Currey
Dimensions:   Width: 13.80cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.384kg
ISBN:  

9781847011145

ISBN 10:   1847011144
Pages:   271
Publication Date:   16 July 2015
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Introduction: the making of chiefship, state and community in South Sudan - PART I: From zariba to merkaz: the creation of the nodal state frontier, c. 1840-1920 Frontier societies and the political economy of knowledge in the nineteenth century Colonial frontiers and the emergence of government chiefs, c. 1900-20 - PART II: From makama to mejlis: the making of chiefship and the local state, 1920s-50s Constituting the urban frontier: chiefship and the colonial labour economy, 1920s-40s Claiming rights and guarantees: chiefs' courts and state justice, c. 1900-56 Containing the frontier: the tensions of territorial chiefdoms, 1930s-50s Uncertainty on the urban frontier: chiefs and the politics of Sudanese independence, 1946-58 - PART III: From malakiya to medina: the fluctuating expansion of the urban frontier, c. 1956-2010 Trading knowledge: chiefship, local elites and the urban frontier, c. 1956-2010 Regulating depredation: chiefs and the military, 1963-2005 Reprising 'tradition': the mutual production of community and state in the twenty-first century Knowing the system: judicial pluralism and discursive legalism in the interim period, 2005-10 Conclusion

Reviews

(Leonardi) combines an impressive mastery of the scholarship on South Sudan and Sudan, with very thorough archival research and fieldwork. At the same time, she brings to bear wide reading in related literatures, to connect the issues that she documents with broader scholarly debates. ... a quite original contribution to the study of politics and the state in modern Africa. - Professor Charles Ambler, University of Texas at El Paso

This highly readable and engaging book offers new insights into southern Sudanese experiences. COMMONWEALTH AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS (A) masterful book. GOVERNANCE IN AFRICAThis highly informed and informative volume is a great addition to the literature on state-society relations in South Sudan. ... Likely to become a measuring stick for future anthropological works on South and should also be of interest to scholars of state-society relations and traditional authorities in other parts of Africa. JOURNAL OF MODERN AFRICAN STUDIES The first thorough study that has been done on the institution of chiefships in South Sudan. (Leonardi) has laid a firm foundation for the further study of this topic by other scholars. ... This book is a valuable resource for graduate students, academics, researchers, policy makers, civil societies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORICAL STUDIES (Employs) a well-considered multi-disciplinary approach in tackling this lively issue and, as such, it would be of interest to students and scholars of African studies and particularly to those in the fields of anthropology, political science, history, law and economics. SUDAN STUDIES Leonardi's book will for a long time be central to any deeper understanding of political structures in the newest African country... This is an important book which should be read widely among all those concerned with African history and politics, not just Sudan specialists. AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW (Leonardi) combines an impressive mastery of the scholarship on South Sudan and Sudan, with very thorough archival research and fieldwork. At the same time, she brings to bear wide reading in related literatures, to connect the issues that she documents with broader scholarly debates. ... a quite original contribution to the study of politics and the state in modern Africa. - Professor Charles Ambler, University of Texas at El Paso

(A) masterful book. GOVERNANCE IN AFRICAThis highly informed and informative volume is a great addition to the literature on state-society relations in South Sudan. ... Likely to become a measuring stick for future anthropological works on South and should also be of interest to scholars of state-society relations and traditional authorities in other parts of Africa. JOURNAL OF MODERN AFRICAN STUDIES The first thorough study that has been done on the institution of chiefships in South Sudan. (Leonardi) has laid a firm foundation for the further study of this topic by other scholars. ... This book is a valuable resource for graduate students, academics, researchers, policy makers, civil societies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORICAL STUDIES (Employs) a well-considered multi-disciplinary approach in tackling this lively issue and, as such, it would be of interest to students and scholars of African studies and particularly to those in the fields of anthropology, political science, history, law and economics. SUDAN STUDIES Leonardi's book will for a long time be central to any deeper understanding of political structures in the newest African country... This is an important book which should be read widely among all those concerned with African history and politics, not just Sudan specialists. AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW (Leonardi) combines an impressive mastery of the scholarship on South Sudan and Sudan, with very thorough archival research and fieldwork. At the same time, she brings to bear wide reading in related literatures, to connect the issues that she documents with broader scholarly debates. ... a quite original contribution to the study of politics and the state in modern Africa. - Professor Charles Ambler, University of Texas at El Paso

Author Information

Cherry Leonardi is Associate Professor in African History at Durham University in the UK. She works on the history of South Sudan and northern Uganda, with particular interests in local-level processes of state formation and the construction of authority, communities, and boundaries. She is the author of Dealing with Government in South Sudan: Histories of Chiefship, Community and State (James Currey, 2013) and co-author of Dividing Communities in South Sudan and Northern Uganda: Boundary Disputes and Land Governance (Rift Valley Institute, 2016). Her current research is exploring histories of conservation, conflict, and nature, with a Carson Fellowship at the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich in 2020.

Tab Content 6

Author Website:  

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

No review item found!

Add your own review!

Countries Available

All regions