Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Roadblock Politics
  • This book is no longer available. There will be a new edition on a date to be confirmed.
  • This book is no longer available to purchase from Cambridge Core
  • Cited by 17
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
January 2022
Print publication year:
2022
Online ISBN:
9781108625050
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108625050
Subjects:
Area Studies, African Studies, Politics and International Relations, International Relations and International Organisations, African Government, Politics and Policy
Information

Book description

There are so many roadblocks in Central Africa that it is hard to find a road that does not have one. Based on research in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Central African Republic (CAR), Peer Schouten maps more than a thousand of these roadblocks to show how communities, rebels and state security forces forge resistance and power out of control over these narrow points of passage. Schouten reveals the connections between these roadblocks in Central Africa and global supply chains, tracking the flow of multinational corporations and UN agencies alike through them, to show how they encapsulate a form of power, which thrives under conditions of supply chain capitalism. In doing so, he develops a new lens through which to understand what drives state formation and conflict in the region, offering a radical alternative to explanations that foreground control over minerals, territory or population as key drivers of Central Africa's violent history.

Awards

Finalist, 2023 ASA Best Book Prize, African Studies Association

Winner, 2023 ISA STAIR Best Book Award, International Studies Association

Winner, 20224 Book Prize, Conflict Research Society

Reviews

‘It’s astonishing how many corners of both state-making and resistance theory are illuminated by this brilliant, deeply-researched study of roadblocks. No serious student of sovereignty and political economy ought to be allowed out the door in the morning without having digested its contents and applied the magnifying lens it provides. It has that ‘world in a grain of sand’ quality to it.’

James C. Scott - Yale University

‘In this book, Peer Schouten lays bare a truth about the connection between violence and development - that is, development as we in the west might have called it. The indigenous people of Central Africa might have thought of it in very different terms. Many critical analyses have been written about how we, non-Africans, left our savage traces all over Africa, one of the major sites of our extractions. A must read.’

Saskia Sassen - Columbia University, New York

‘Based on extraordinary research in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, this is an innovative approach to the study of conflict dynamics in resource-rich areas with roadblocks as alternative financing mechanisms for armed groups. By placing roadblock politics in a comprehensive historical perspective including pre-twentieth century Europe and precolonial Africa, Peer Schouten has made an outstanding contribution to state formation theory.’

Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

‘An instant classic’

Daniel Agbiboa Source: Perspectives on Politics

‘A breathtaking book’

Susan Thomson Source: New Books Network

‘A strikingly original study’

Nicolas van de Walle Source: Foreign Affairs

‘Amazing, unputdownable… One of these books that completely changes the narrative’

Robert Amsterdam Source: Departures Podcast

‘A smart, beautifully written explanation of the actual nature of power and control in Congo and the Central African Republic … Brilliantly researched, “Roadblock Politics” avoids unnecessary jargon and is accessible to just about anyone: students, policymakers and general readers alike. I can’t recommend it highly enough.’

Laura Seay Source: The Washington Post

‘Masterful … Roadblock politics is an eminent and enriching contribution to the literatures on state formation, political economy and conflict studies, as well as to the burgeoning academic interest in the granular, frictious and often deadly life of logistics.’

Adam Bregnsbo Fastholm Source: International Affairs

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents
References

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.