Inspired by the events leading up to the overthrow of Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda's Life Presidency, this book explores the deep logic of Malawi's political culture as it emerged in the colonial and early post-colonial periods. It draws on archival sources from three continents and oral testimonies gathered over a ten-year period provided by those who lived these events. Power narrates how anti-colonial protest was made relevant to the African majority through the painstaking engagement of politicians in local grievances and struggles, which they then linked to the fight against white settler domination in the guise of the Central African Federation. She also explores how Dr. Banda (leader of independent Malawi for thirty years), the Nyasaland African Congress, and its successor, the Malawi Congress Party, functioned within this political culture, and how the MCP became a formidable political machine. Centralto this process was the deployment of women and youth to cut across parochial politics and consolidate a broad base of support. No less important was the deliberate manipulation of history and the use of rumor and innuendo, symbol and pageantry, persecution and reward. It was this mix that made people both accept and reject the MCP regime, sometimes simultaneously. Joey Power is Professor of History at Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Boydell & Brewer Ltd
ISBN-13
9781580463102
eBay Product ID (ePID)
106189635
Product Key Features
Book Title
Political Culture and Nationalism in Malawi: Building Kwacha
Author
Joey Power
Format
Hardcover
Language
English
Topic
History
Publication Year
2010
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
350 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
229mm
Item Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Title_Author
Joey Power
Issn
1092-5228
Topic Area
Political Science
Series Title
Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora