In recent years, scholars have noted the rise of a particular type
of authoritarianism worldwide, in which rulers manipulate
institutions designed to implement the rule of law so that they
instead facilitate the exercise of arbitrary power. Even as
scholars puzzle over this seemingly new phenomenon, scholarship on
African politics offers helpful answers. This book places
literature on the post-colonial African state in conversation with
literature on modern authoritarianism, using this to frame over ten
months of qualitative field research on Uganda's informal security
actors - including vigilante groups, local militias, and community
police. Based on this research, the book presents an original
framework - called 'institutionalized arbitrariness' - to explain
how modern authoritarian rulers project arbitrary power even in
environments of relatively functional state institutions, checks
and balances and the rule of law. In regimes characterized by
institutionalized arbitrariness, the state's stochastic assertions
and withdrawals of power inject unpredictability into the political
relationship between both local authorities and citizens. This
arrangement makes it difficult for citizens to predict which
authority, if any, will claim jurisdiction in a given scenario, and
what rules will apply. This environment of pervasive political
unpredictability limits space for collective action and political
claim-making, while keeping citizens marginally engaged in the
democratic process. The book is grounded in empirical research and
literature theorizing the African state, while seeking to inform a
broader debate about contemporary forms of authoritarianism,
state-building, and state consolidation. Oxford Studies in African
Politics and International Relations is a series for scholars and
students working on African politics and International Relations
and related disciplines. Volumes concentrate on contemporary
developments in African political science, political economy, and
International Relations, such as electoral politics,
democratization, decentralization, gender and political
representation, the political impact of natural resources, the
dynamics and consequences of conflict, comparative political
thought, and the nature of the continent's engagement with the East
and West. Comparative and mixed methods work is particularly
encouraged, as is interdisciplinary research and work that
considers ethical issues relating to the study of Africa. Case
studies are welcomed but should demonstrate the broader theoretical
and empirical implications of the study and its wider relevance to
contemporary debates. The focus of the series is on sub-Saharan
Africa, although proposals that explain how the region engages with
North Africa and other parts of the world are of interest. Series
Editors: Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy and International
Development, University of Birmingham; Peace Medie, Senior Lecturer
in Gender and International Politics, University of Bristol; and
Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Professor of the International Politics
of Africa, University of Oxford. This is an open access title
available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International
licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and
offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access
locations.
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