Arbitrary States - Social Control and Modern Authoritarianism in Museveni''s Uganda

This book places literature on the post-colonial African state in conversation with literature on modern authoritarianism. The book presents an original framework, 'institutionalized arbitrariness', to explain how modern authoritarian rulers project arbitrary power, even in environments of relatively functional state institutions and rule of law.

List of contents

• 1: Violence, Governance, and Uncertainty: An Introduction to Citizens' Lived Experiences of the Ugandan State


• 2: Arbitrary Governance and Modern Authoritarianism


• 3: Institutionalized Arbitrariness in Uganda (1986-2016)


• 4: Violence, Sovereignty, and the Uganda Police Force


• 5: Claiming Jurisdiction: Local Vigilantes and the Struggle to Consolidate Power


• 6: Whither the State? Surveillance, Crime Preventers, and Potential State Presence


• 7: Varieties of Arbitrary Governance


• 8: Arbitrary Governance in Africa and Beyond

About the author

Rebecca Tapscott is an Ambizione Research Fellow at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and a visiting fellow at the London School of Economics' Centre on Africa. Her research focuses on authoritarianism, violence, and state formation in developing countries. She has over a decade of experience working on development and governance in sub-Saharan Africa. Her internationally-recognized research appears in numerous academic journals including Development and Change, African Affairs, and Disasters.

Summary

This book places literature on the post-colonial African state in conversation with literature on modern authoritarianism. The book presents an original framework, 'institutionalized arbitrariness', to explain how modern authoritarian rulers project arbitrary power, even in environments of relatively functional state institutions and rule of law.

Product details

• Authors: Rebecca Tapscott, Rebecca (Ambizione Research Fellow Tapscott
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.07.2021
• EAN: 9780198856474
• ISBN: 978-0-19-885647-4
• No. of pages: 256
• Series: Oxford Studies In African Politics And International Relations
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Uganda, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Process / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / History & Theory, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / African, International Relations, Political science & theory, Comparative Politics, Political structures: totalitarianism and dictatorship, Political science and theory, Development Studies, Political structures: totalitarianism & dictatorship