I used to fly helicopters for the Navy. Now I work at U.S. embassies to build our mutual security cooperation/defense relationships. I'm also reading a novel from every country in Africa (33 so far). I'm in the process of moving these over to a dedicated website: www.beyondachebe.com.
Most of my non-africa book reviews are now over at www.kruzoo.blogspot.com
"But being right, even morally right, isn't everything. It is also important to be competent, to be consistent, and to be knowledgeable. It's important for your soldiers and diplomats to speak the language of the people you want to influence. It's important to understand the ethnic and tribal divisions of the place you hope to assist." -Anne Applebaum
IMPORTANT NOTE: DON'T CHEAT. DON'T PLAGIARIZE. Notes and Papers are shared here for reference and for studying. Footnote as appropriate. BONUS LINK: My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here.
By the way--legit deal here below for college students--just in time for the holiday season!
Herbst argues that African leaders (pre, during, and
post-colonization) have all faced similar issues when attempting to rule and
have often came to the same conclusions on how to solve their problems. He compares the formation of African states
to Europe. He claims that the
consolidation of power over distance, as the dependent variable, is affected by
thecosts of extending power, the nature
of boundaries, and the nature of the state system. These 3 factors matter in every period.
He wants
to be a thicker structuralist. If everyone makes the same choices due to
environment—then what’s the point of examining individuals though. While Herbst says he’s not geographically
deterministic—he kind of is as he goes on.
Introduction
- Failure of African states to consolidate authority has
resulted in civil wars, refugees, and dysfunctional policies by leaders
- International society still assumes that all African
countries can control all of their territory.
Control = infrastructure + loyalty
Chapter 1 - The Challenge of State-Building in Africa
- It was difficult to project power due to low population
densities in SSA
- Ecological conditions didn't support large
concentrations of people (only 8% of SSA is tropical. Geography
controls population density
- Difficult to project thru highly differentiated
environmental zones (coastal, forest, savannah, near-desert, etc.)
- Costly to project power due to the same reason
above. The wheel was introduced in
northern Africa during ancient times and abandoned because the terrain and
distances could not be supported with the necessary roads.
- While European nations competed for territory, Africans
had plenty of land that did not propagate conflict. Threat of war in Europe allowed leaders to
place emphasis on controlling remote areas and borders -- Africa did not have
this problem or reason to control its territories. Primary object was to capture people and
treasure, not land which was available to all.
Land was the constant—population was the variable.
- Colonizers were not interested in duplicating European
power infrastructure that bound city to hinterland; Colonial capitals located
on the coast to serve logistical and health needs of colonizers.
- Few roads or telephones in hinterland outside of
extracting goods.
- Nationalist politics in the 50s and 60s were very much
urban affairs.
- After independence, independant countries still had
projection problems
--
Peasants desired to maintain their own decisions about their lives
-- Long
economic crisis since late 70s
-- 69% ofpopulation still live in rural areas
OAU
Chapter 2 - Power and Space in Precolonial Africa
**His nuance in his definition of a state is
important—control over a population instead of borders
- Non-territorial nature of power
- African farmers depended on rain-fed agriculture and
invested little in a particular piece of land; Few pieces of land were valuable
or worth a great price to defend.
- People were not controlled by territory claims and could
escape from rulers rather than fight them.
- Pre-colonial Africa societies unbundled ownership and
control of land.
- Political control had to be earned through loyalty,
coercion, and creation of infrastructure because it was too easy for people to
just leave.
- Roads were vital to exercising formal authority; allow
troop movement, access, etc.
- More cultural diversity due to constrained broadcasting
of power
Detriments of Power
- Often not worth the price of fighting to defend outlying
lands.
- Empires were seen as radiating from the capital cities, decreasing as
distance increased. Some power extended
great distance. On the village level, it
may not extend past the individual village.
- Centralization of power stayed in capitals since weapons
could only be accessed by central state trade with Europeans.
- Benefits of state were shared. If not, people would leave.
Buffer mechanisms to keep people in place were not in
place in Africa. No set of norms tocontrol inflows of people were established and no official currency (to
maintain physical presence) existed.
Shared sovereignty and multiple state forms due to:
-
physical geography was daunting
- stateshad few ways of mediating flow of people or money
- statesystem permitted hinterlands to break away or govern themselves
Discussion Points:
How and why colonial state is organized the way it
is?
How’s it different and how’s it the same? What are the implications?
He emphasizes borders despite their artificiality. Clearly colonial state is the basis for today
(example of coastal capital cities).
State system that evolved end up being cooperative instead of
competitive.
IMPORTANT NOTE: DON'T CHEAT. DON'T PLAGIARIZE. Notes and Papers are shared here for reference and for studying. Footnote as appropriate. Grad School Notes Collection (Africa, IR, Ethnic Conflict, Economics, Writing, Islam, Comparative Politics)
Below are the links to all the notes I have previously published here on FUUO. They are organized into a few areas: Africa, IR, Islam
AFRICA:
Notes (Discussion) Iliffe’s Africans: The History of a Continent
BONUS LINK: My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here.
I've embedded my complete notes below. Previously all of these notes had been spread out over 15 posts or so.
From time to time, God causes men to be born—and thou art one of them—who have a lust to go
abroad at the risk of their lives and discover news—today it may be of far-off things, tomorrow of
some hidden mountain, and the next day of some nearby men who have done a foolishness against
the state. These souls are very few; and of these few, not more than ten are of the best.
-Kim
I love Hartley’s opening quote. If there were ever an engraving to be mounted on the wall of my hypothetical office it would be this . Part of the path to achievement is often began just by the act of writing your goal down: to be one of the ‘ten best’ FAOs, foreign policy experts, africanists.
I love these reports--always great summaries and good starting points for understanding issues.
"If voters approve a constitution in a national referendum, then new elections are to be held by mid-2013, bringing a nearly two-year transition process to a close."
IMPORTANT NOTE: DON'T CHEAT. DON'T PLAGIARIZE. Notes and Papers are shared here for reference and for studying. Footnote as appropriate. BONUS LINK: My entire (so far) grad school notes collection can be found here. All Things Achebe--The Complete Notes Collection
DISCLAIMER: These are my notes that I created from reading the novel and from classroom discussion. Generally speaking, the chapter by chapter summaries are my own, however, the other parts of the posts are what I hope are an amelioration of the classroom discussion.
Man of the People
Notes and Discussion from Class
This
novel takes place in 1964 examines the institutions of Nigeria. Coming out of colonial times, the
people have no sense of taxes or being
taxed, especially the farmers (because the tax is just being wrapped into the
purchase price). Originally
published in 1966, during which there were two coups in Nigeria. The first coup ended the first
republic. After these two coups
Achebe went to Biafra to join their independence movement. When Biafra lost that bid, Achebe
headed to the US for an extended period.
Without
understanding that Chief Nanga is a man of the people, the story does not work. In the novel, it’s the
people that drive the action. It’s
important that Nanga is the only character that talks to the people. Odili never talks to the people in the
same manner. Even at Odili’s
rally, it’s Maxwell who speaks, and he still doesn’t speak to them in the way Nanga
does (paragraph’s ideas mainly attributed to prof).
- How sympathetic is
Achebe’s hero? Achebe portrays
Odili as symbolic of the next generation.
It’s important to note that Achebe writes in the first person, a
departure from his previous novels.
- How do women in this book represent society at large?
Edna
is a pawn and passive figure—the least of the actors.
Elsie
shows a keen lack of fidelity.
Eunice
symbolizes accountability, which is what you want in a nation.
Akilois educated but also a prostitute.
Mrs
Nanga:what’s the deal with her Adam’s apple?
*In
the novel, women go along with objectification. If they symbolize society at large, they are treated as objects that
don’t care that that is the way they are treated.
- Where did lack of selflessness come from? Who’s to blame for this endemic
corruption? Achebe blames it on
scale of largesse—in the nation/state there’s no ownership (like that exists at the village level). Before independence stealing was fine
because it was from the White man, but now it’s stealing from the people?
- How is religion replaced by materialism in the novel?
- Examine the inversion of education’s importance.
- Could Chief Koko’s overreaction (when he thinks that he’s
been poisoned) be a dig at the alarmist nature of that region by Achebe?
- Examine how he uses different women in the novel:
- Examine the theme of infidelity among men and women. Does this transfer to a lack of
fidelity in society at large?
- Jalio is Soyinka (Sho-yeen-kah). How does this idea fit into the novel’s meaning? Incidentally, read some of this man’s
poetry! It’s essential.
- The novel offers Achebe’s commentary on education—they
purge the western-educated ministers at the beginning and voice a disdain for
their education abroad. The action
highlights this competition, as well as the inability of society to hold anyone
accountable, because they don’t
understand how their country fits into the larger global context.
Examine the roles played by fathers in the novel.
Chapter 1
Chief Nanga (Minister of Culture) comes to his hometown
(village) of Anata. He is “a man
of the people.” Background on his
rise to power. He recognizes and
remembers Odili, who is a teacher in the village. He invites him to come stay withi him in the city. The
corruption and the politics are introduced.
- would a
sensible man “spit out a juicy morsel that good fortune placed in his mouth.”
- showing tip of tongue to sky to swear oath?
Chapter 2
Background on Odili and Else, his friend with benefits. Also meet his friend Andrew. Odili is firm in his aspirations and
his work to keep his actions ‘clean.’
He will not stoop to cronyism to get the scholarship to London that he
desires. There is a universal
disdain among politicians for education abroad, however Nanga still looks
forward to his upcoming honorary law degree from a small college in US.
- Objectification and devaluation of women shown in
anecdotes.
Chapter 3
Odili goes to Nanga’s and is welcomed warmly. Background on Odili’s father, a
district interpreter—a powerful and hated man with five wives and 35
children. Odili’s mother died
giving birth to him—there’s shame associated with this. Odili and Nanga visit Chief Koko, who
handles education abroad, but they don’t get a chance to discuss the
scholarship.
- After independence the value of education becomes
inverted. Proximity to power is
most important.
- Corruption feeds and multiplies bureaucracy and vice
versa.
- OHMS, which the elite don’t use. (Our Home Made Stuff)
- the gap between power and previous life is so huge that it
feeds corruption
Chapter 4
Mrs. Nanga gets ready to leave with the children to visit
her village, which they do at least once a year. Americans John and Jean stop by. Jean flirts shamelessly with Nanga while her husband
highbrows it with Odili. Jean and
John work in public relations for Nigeria in their efforts with the U.S.
- Good details about racism and lynching in the US to
contrast with Nigeria’s problems.
Chapter 5
Odili goes to Jean’s party and ends up sleeping with
her. He finds that he doesn’t
really like her but ask to see her again.
For American, Africans are a novelty, one that they hold apart and
distinct from the ‘blacks’ back home.
At the dinner party, Odili has a good time. Nanga never ends up going because Mrs. Akilo arrives at his
home—we find out later that he sleeps with her.
- Shaking the fist is a sign of great honour and respect.
Chapter 6
Odili visits Elsie and sets up a date. He takes Nanga’s Cadillac which
impresses her. They all go
together to a book exhibition to hear Nanga speak.
- Objectification of women again.
- Jalio wrote fictional Song of the Blackbird
Chapter 7
Nanga makes a good speech and they return home. He comments that he likes Jalio after
he sees various ambassadors fawning over the author. They eat dinner and Nanga has sex with Elsie! Odili loses it when he hears them (she
is screaming Odili’s name in a perverse twist) and leaves the house at
4AM. He comes back in the morning
and curses out Nanga and heads to Maxwell’s.
- a dash is a small
loan or bribe—this destigmatizes corruption—it’s just a small quick thing after
all.
Chapter 8
Odili plots revenge against Nanga. Maxwell hold a meeting of the Common People’s Convention
(CPC). While the party has
Communist undertones, Maxwell is quick to reject that label. He reveals that the CPC has an inside
man in the current government.
- All the
politicians care for are women, cars, landed property. It’s like a rap video today. Case in point:
- some in the older
generation wish the white man had never left
- “it is only when you are close to a man that you can
begin to smell his breath”
Chapter 9
Odili goes back to Anata and we hear the story of Josiah,
the bar-owner who took too much.
Odili visits Mrs. Nanga and gets
Edna’s location and then visits her, saying that Nanga sent him to inquire
after her mother (who is in the hospital). He gives Edna a lift to the hospital on his bike but also
crashes it, humorously.
- No greater condemnation: taking things till at last the
owner (the people) notice.
Chapter 10
At Christmas, details of major corruption (more than their
fair share) break out in the media concerning current government. The CPC has Odili run against
Nanga. Odili implore Edna not to
marry Nanga! Odili meets a lot of
opposition in his campaign. It’s
important that he rejects Josiah’s offer of support.
- now we see a dash of
a four-story home!
- we also see that the wooden masks are now a game played by
drunkards and children
- we see Odili enjoying the fear in another person—enjoying
power
- whereas a telegram might take 3 days to reach the country,
rumour took a day or less
Chapter 11
Odili gets bodyguards as the campaign gets vicious. Through it all, he pines for Edna
(probably more than he cares about the CPC). Nanga approaches Odili’s father and tries to buy off Odili with
250 pounds and a two year scholarship.
Odili firmly rejects this.
- “Eating the hills like yam”
Chapter 12
Maxwell arrives from the city with his CPC staff to drum up
support for Odili. Maxwell admits
he took a bribe similar to the one offered to Odili, however, he insists that
the bribe carries no weight and he just did it to take the money. When Odili approaches Edna, she angrily
dismisses him. When the POP finds
out that Odili’s father indirectly supported his son’s campaigning, they nearly
jail him and levy convenient overdue taxes against him. Odili’s home village loses their pipes
for supporting him. Odili writes
off Edna.
Chapter 13
In disguise, Odili goes to Nanga’s campaign meeting. Josiah sees him though and calls him
out. Odili is beaten severely,
with only Edna vainly trying to help.
He wakes up in the hospital and ends up winning Edna. A military coup occurs in the country,
overthrowing the government and suddenly Max is a martyr and a hero.
- corruption equated with “a warrior eating the reward of
his courage” at throwing the white man out
- the people had nothing to do with fall of government—it
was unruly mobs and private armies.
- “but in the affairs of the nation there was no owner, the
laws of the village became powerless.”
- you’ve lived a good life when someone will shoot your
murderer without expecting anything in return.
