Global Shadows: Africa in the Neoliberal World Order Kindle Edition

After spending a few months researching, working, and living in South Sudan and South Africa for several months I began to cringe when I heard people talk about "Africa" as if it was a unitary place whose population was relatively homogenous where all the countries experienced the same problems and were basically interchangeable. Many area studies specialists have scoffed at the do-gooder perspective of "Africa" that often treats the massive continent as if it was a single country. Ferguson moves past this academic snobbery and engages a cross-section of African locations, problems, and possibilities from the perspective of the "place-in-the-world" or concept of "Africa" as the broader world has tended to see it - and indeed as the West basically created it, first through colonial policies and then through structural adjustment and similar "neoliberal" or economically "neo-colonial" strategies that largely sidelined popular rule on the continent. Starting from the perspective of a historical juncture at which African people were robbed of their democratic voices at the same time as African states began to be blamed for the problems that had been created through failed globalizing economic policies, Ferguson moves through the social, environmental, and political ramifications of Africa's location in the "shadows" of the value-extracting developed world and of the "shadow" markets and practices that are involved in popular perceptions of Africa. While the five-star rating by no means indicates that I agree with all of Ferguson's perspectives or that I bought all of his arguments, it does mean that from my perspective, this work was very thought-provoking and useful and I would highly recommend it to anyone engaged in NGO work, studying Africa, or interested in the international political and economic order's effects on the developing world. An interesting, very readable, and stimulating book.

Awesome

This book was very interesting and brought up a lot of ideas I hadn't really considered before. Ferguson will challenge everything you think you know about globalism and will help you understand the complexity of the term "global."

It completely reshaped my worldview. A critical look at all of the social-political views we take as common sense. It's not just applicable to Africa, but the whole world.

For those interested in "Africa," development, or neoliberalism, this book is sure to offer new insights. Brilliant.

Whether you are interested in contemporary anthropological theory or Africa, this book will expand the way you think about some of the most important issues of our time.

Ferguson has obviously been embedded in African studies for a considerable length of time, and this series of essays reflects that in its depth. As indicated in the introduction, the author works to evaluate the relationship between Africa and globalization from a pan-Africanist view. Using a series of case studies from his own research and others, Fergussen succeeds in painting a picture of a globalized Africa that often goes beyond conventional understandings of the continent.As a student of international development, I have almost exclusively looked at Africa through the lense of humanitarian crisis. This book provides the reader an opportunity to engage with the continent in a much more complex sense. I would certainly recommend it as the best text on Africa I've read so far.

good