School of Social and Political Science

Description

Speaker: Kathy Dodworth, Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh

Chair: Claire Duncanson, Politics and International Relations, University of Edinburgh

Venue: Chrystal Macmillan Building Seminar Rooms 1 and 2 

Co-sponsored by the Centre of African Studies and Politics and International Relations (PIR)

Join us for the book launch of Legitimation as Political Practice by Kathy Dodworth, jointly hosted by the Centre of African Studies and Politics and International Relations at the University of Edinburgh.

Legitimacy has long been perceived through a Westernized lens as a fixed, binary state. In her book, Kathy Dodworth explores everyday legitimation practices in coastal Tanzania, specifically how non-government organizations craft their authority to act, working with, against and through the state. Combining ethnographic fieldwork with theoretical innovation, legitimacy is reworked as a collection of constantly renegotiated practices. Adopting insights from political theory, sociology and anthropology, her book develops a picture of contemporary non/state governance in Tanzania and beyond, in the wake of waning Western dominance.

Given the interdisciplinary nature of her work, Kathy is joined to discuss her book by Prof. Emma Hunter, Professor of Global and African History at the University of Edinburgh, who has an interest in the history of ideas. Our second discussant, Dr Muhidin Shangwe, is a lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Dar es Salaam, where he teaches African International Relations. His areas of interest are Afro-Chinese relations, regional politics and state and civil society. The discussion is chaired by Dr Claire Duncanson, senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Edinburgh.

Format

Participation is possible either in person or online. Walk-ins are welcome but if you can pre-register it helps with planning! If you are attending online, please note that we will be using Zoom and that links will be shared on the day so you must register in advance. Please select the preferred type of participation when booking your place.