Theory from the South, Revisited

Since its initial 2011 publication, Theory from the South has stimulated a new field of inquiry from leading scholars, while world developments have escalated and supported its original thesis of how Euroamerica has evolved toward Africa. Not least of these is the many resemblances of the Trump presidency to that of Jacob Zuma, transformations in the nature of many of the world’s Northern democracies, the rise of populist politics, the intensifying hold of private capital over functions of the state, sharpening inequalities, and the transformation of labor. In a new chapter for this expanded edition, the Comaroffs extend their theorizing around and beyond these new developments. Critique and discussion by several prominent commentators round out this new edition: Achille Mbembe, James Ferguson, Ato Quayson, Srinivas Aravamudan, and Juan Obarrio.