The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly

The State in Africa is one of the important and compelling texts ofcomparative politics and historical sociology of the last twentyyears. Bayart rejects the assumption of African 'otherness' basedon stereotyped images of famine, corruption and civil war. Insteadhe invites the reader to see that African politics is like politicsanywhere else in the world, not an exotic aberration.



Africans themselves speak of a 'politics of the belly' - anexpression that refers not only to the necessities of survival butalso to a complex array of cultural representations, notably thoseof the 'invisible' world of sorcery. The 'politics of the belly'attests to a distinctively African trajectory of power that we needto understand as part of a long-term historical development.



While acknowledging the insights of Western social scientists fromWeber to Foucault, Bayart never loses sight of the realities ofAfrican politics and social life and he is careful to allow Africanvoices - from the 'small boy' in the street to the 'big men' in thepresidential palaces - to speak for themselves.



This new edition of Bayart's classic book includes a newintroduction on Africa in the world today.



This book has established itself as an indispensable text on thestate and politics in Africa. It also provides a nuanced reading ofwhat we have come to call 'development' and opens the way for amore general reflection on the invention of politics in African andAsian societies.