Africa at the Crossroads: Theorising Fundamentalisms in the 21st Century

Description

This volume interrogates and theorises various forms of fundamentalism and fetishism that impinge on Africa and the African people. The book valiantly rethinks and unpacks these forms of fundamentalisms and fetishisms, offering in the process critical vistas for students, scholars and activists on matters of decoloniality and transformation. By meticulously and painstakingly unpacking pertinent issues, the book provides unparalleled intellectual milestones and platforms for the oncoming revolution and quest for justice in the form of decoloniality and transformation. Drawing from several disciplinary domains such as Development Studies, Security Studies, Political Anthropology and Sociology, Economic Anthropology and Social studies, English Studies, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies, and drawing from scholars from across different universities in the Southern African region, the book provides multiple lenses from which to understand the complex goings on in a continent that can no longer afford to simply fold hands and watch while its citizens suffer multiple forms of coloniality, fetishisms and fundamentalisms. Cover Title page Copyright page List of Contributors Contents Chapter One - Theorising Fundamentalisms and Fetishisms in the 21st Century Terrorist Africa or Terrorised Africa? Fundamentalism and Terrorism in the World Chapter Outlines References Chapter Two - “Humanitarian” Fundamentalism: Interrogating “Global” Processes of Fishing in African Troubled Waters Introduction Fishing in Troubled African Waters: Retracing the Strangulations and Tribulations The “Humanitarianism” of Genetically Modified Food and Herbicides Donations Conclusion References Chapter Three - On the Coloniality of Research in Africa: The Case of HIV/AIDS in South Africa Introduction: Epistemic Justice and Fundamentalisms Ignorance, Coloniality and Fundamentalisms Africa as the “field” is Part of the Colonial Matrix of Power The speaking individual and the devil that is the detail Curing their Ills with our Superior Knowledge When Black Lives are not seen Through Colonial Lenses Accounting for Differences Power-Knowledge: The Making of Sexuality Scholarship on HIV/AIDS in Africa: Engendering African AIDS The politics of location: Who speaks for whom and why? Conclusion References Chapter Four - Poverty and Fundamentalism in Africa Introduction Poverty and Fundamentalism Poverty in Africa Poverty, Wars and Development in Africa Poverty, Inequality and Democracy in Africa Religious Fundamentalism Christian Fundamentalism Islamic Fundamentalism Economic Fundamentalism References Chapter Five - Questioning the Cult of the State: Evangelicals on the Zimbabwean National Pledge 2014-2016 Introduction The Historical Background The Minister’s Position on the National Pledge Responses to the National Pledge Religious versus State Fundamentalism Conclusion References Chapter Six - Foot Soldiers of the New Empire or Horizontal Saviours? Interrogating Civil Society Organisations and Fundamentalisms in Twenty-First Century Africa Introduction Deliverance to Godly Freedom or Deliverance to the Imperial Leviathan? Coloniality and the New Empire Possessing the Genes of Missionaries of the Old? The Fundamentalism of Resilient Missionary Callings Mozambique Kenya Conclusions References Chapter Seven - Dismantling Fundamentalisms in Science:T railing Feyerab End’s Epistemological Anarchism and the Place of African Science Introduction What is African Science? Paul Feyerabend and epistemological anarchism Reading Feyerabend in the Practice of African Science Could African Conceptual Frames be Fundamentalist? Traditional Medicine as an example of modern-day practice of African Science Conclusion References Chapter Eight - Fetishisation of Knowledge: A Case of Patriotic History in Zimbabwe Introduction The concept of fundamentalism(s) Land reform, Patriotic history and Third Chimurenga Fetishising Knowledge Conclusion References Chapter Nine - History, culture, religion and [under-]development in Africa Introduction Religion and slavery Religion and colonialism as two bedfellows [Under] development Conclusion Abbreviations References Chapter Ten - Interfacing the Past and the Present: Traditional Leaders, Politics and Materialism in Zimbabwe since the Pre-colonial Period Introduction Material benefits of traditional leaders during the pre-colonial period Material pursuits of traditional leaders during the colonial period The disempowerment of traditional leaders from independence to the late 1990s Material benefits offered to traditional leaders by the ZANUPF government Materialism and political polarisation among traditional leaders in 21st century Zimbabwe The way forward: Traditional leaders as agents of development and mediators in political violence Conclusion References Chapter Eleven - A Constitutional ‘Gamble’: Re-visiting the COPAC Driven Constitutional Making Process in Zimbabwe Introduction Background to the COPAC process The unfolding of the COPAC led constitutional initiative A critical reflection of the process Logistical challenges An inhibiting environment Political party influence and coaching Citizen attendance and participation Special interest groups Racial discrimination The timing of the constitution making process Media reforms Concluding Remarks References Back cover