Overview

Political Theories of Decolonization provides an introduction to some of the seminal texts of postcolonial political theory. The difficulty of founding a new regime is an important theme in political theory, and the intellectual history of decolonization provides a rich--albeit overlooked--opportunity to explore it. Many theorists have pointed out that the colonized subject was a divided subject. This book argues that the postcolonial state was a divided state. While postcolonial states were created through the struggle for independence, they drew on both colonial institutions and reinvented pre-colonial traditions. Political Theories of Decolonization illuminates how many of the central themes of political theory such as land, religion, freedom, law, and sovereignty are imaginatively explored by postcolonial thinkers. In doing so, it provides readers access to texts that add to our understanding of contemporary political life and global political dynamics.

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9780195399578

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<br> This is a welcome book--one of the very few to provide an overview of anti-colonial struggles and post-colonial experiences from Latin America and Africa to India and Asia. The authors should be congratulated for eloquently demonstrating the relevance of these struggles and experiences for contemporary political theory. Decolonization for the authors is not simply an accomplished fact--because colonialism still persists in many guises and post-colonialism itself conjures up unresolved issues. The most prominent issue is how anti-colonial struggles can lead to a regime without unjust domination, that is, how democracy can be a form of genuine 'self-rule.' --Fred Dallmayr, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, and author of Beyond Orientalism and Dialogue among Civilizations<p><br> This book fills an important gap in the rich field of post-colonial studies. It allows us, for the first time, to see in a systematic way the deep and subtle thinking and links among those who did the actual mental and physical work of decolonization--work performed without the theoretical hubris of assuming a blank slate. Kohn and McBride have made an important contribution in a crowded field. --Uday Singh Mehta, Professor in the Social Sciences, Amherst College, and author of Liberalism and Empire and The Anxiety of Freedom<p><br> Kohn and McBride's important volume is the beginning, rather than the end, of a conversation that points toward fascinating directions for future thinking. It should not only be compulsory reading for any political theorist interested in questions of power, domination, exploitation and privilege (or lack thereof), it should spur conversations about the decolonization of political theory itself, through new answers and new questions that emerge from the postcolonial world. --Theory & Event<br><p><br> The authors demonstrate the importance of postcolonial political thought in thinking about the timeless questions of politica

<br> This is a welcome book--one of the very few to provide an overview of anti-colonial struggles and post-colonial experiences from Latin America and Africa to India and Asia. The authors should be congratulated for eloquently demonstrating the relevance of these struggles and experiences for contemporary political theory. Decolonization for the authors is not simply an accomplished fact--because colonialism still persists in many guises and post-colonialism itself conjures up unresolved issues. The most prominent issue is how anti-colonial struggles can lead to a regime without unjust domination, that is, how democracy can be a form of genuine 'self-rule.' --Fred Dallmayr, Professor of Political Science and Philosophy, University of Notre Dame, and author of Beyond Orientalism and Dialogue among Civilizations<p><br> This book fills an important gap in the rich field of post-colonial studies. It allows us, for the first time, to see in a systematic way the deep and subtle thinking an

Outstanding Academic Titles 2012, as selected by CHOICE Magazine (December 2012). CHOICE

Author Information

Margaret Kohn is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto. Keally McBride is Associate Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco.

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