Julia Gallagher

Can the stories of states be told through their buildings? What can a former apartheid prison now constitutional court, the world's largest Catholic church, an imperial palace now theme park, and the football stadium that staged the Rumble in the Jungle reveal about state consolidation and the cultural roots of politics? This book looks at an array of public buildings, from hospitals to police stations to parliaments, in five capital cities in western, eastern, central and southern Africa, exploring their aesthetics, their role in public life, how they came to be built, who uses them and - most importantly - what citizens think about them, to explain how states are made and why they matter. Drawing on group discussions with more than 600 citizens in South Africa, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, it uses citizens' descriptions and stories of state buildings to understand how people see, feel and 'make sense' of the state. From this empirical base, supplemented by examples from art and fiction and by aesthetic theory, the book builds a theoretical argument to show how states are like buildings, marked by a tension between an orderly exterior and disorderly interior that shapes how authority is built between citizens and the state. By telling the state-stories of five African countries through some of the continent's most important architecture, the book shows how history, political culture and aesthetics shape the state in widely different ways. On publication this book is available as an Open Access ebook under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC.

Can the stories of states be told through their buildings? What can a former apartheid prison now constitutional court, the world's largest Catholic church, an imperial palace now theme park, and the football stadium that staged the Rumble in the Jungle reveal about state consolidation and the cultural roots of politics? This book looks at an array of public buildings, from hospitals to police stations to parliaments, in five capital cities in western, eastern, central and southern Africa, exploring their aesthetics, their role in public life, how they came to be built, who uses them and - most importantly - what citizens think about them, to explain how states are made and why they matter. Drawing on group discussions with more than 600 citizens in South Africa, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, it uses citizens' descriptions and stories of state buildings to understand how people see, feel and 'make sense' of the state. From this empirical base, supplemented by examples from art and fiction and by aesthetic theory, the book builds a theoretical argument to show how states are like buildings, marked by a tension between an orderly exterior and disorderly interior that shapes how authority is built between citizens and the state. By telling the state-stories of five African countries through some of the continent's most important architecture, the book shows how history, political culture and aesthetics shape the state in widely different ways. On publication this book is available as an Open Access ebook under the Creative Commons license CC BY-NC.

The 2013 general elections in Zimbabwe were widely expected to mark a shift in the nation's political system, and a greater role for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. However, the results, surprisingly, were overwhelmingly in favour of long-time President Robert Mugabe, who swept the presidential, parliamentary and senatorial polls under relatively credible and peaceful conditions. In this book, a valuable and accessible read for both students and scholars working in African politics, and those with a general interest in the politics of the region, Stephen Chan and Julia Gallagher explore the domestic and international context of these landmark elections. Drawing on extensive research among political elites, grassroots activists and ordinary voters, Chan and Gallagher examine the key personalities, dramatic events, and broader social and political context of Mugabe's success, and what this means as Zimbabwe moves towards a future without Mugabe.

Zimbabwe is a state that has undergone significant ruptures in its domestic and international politics in recent years. This book explores how Zimbabwean citizens have, under difficult circumstances, reconstructed ideas of their state by imagining the wider world. Unlike other work on international relations, which tends to focus on the state level, this book is based on the accounts of ordinary people. Drawing on interviews with more than two hundred Zimbabweans, collected over three years, Gallagher explores how citizens draw on emotional responses to the international to find and construct different 'others'. While this unique and compelling read will appeal to those researching Zimbabwe, Gallagher's wider conclusions will interest those studying and advancing the broader theoretical debates of international relations.

Zimbabwe is a state that has undergone significant ruptures in its domestic and international politics in recent years. This book explores how Zimbabwean citizens have, under difficult circumstances, reconstructed ideas of their state by imagining the wider world. Unlike other work on international relations, which tends to focus on the state level, this book is based on the accounts of ordinary people. Drawing on interviews with more than two hundred Zimbabweans, collected over three years, Gallagher explores how citizens draw on emotional responses to the international to find and construct different 'others'. While this unique and compelling read will appeal to those researching Zimbabwe, Gallagher's wider conclusions will interest those studying and advancing the broader theoretical debates of international relations.

The 2013 general elections in Zimbabwe were widely expected to mark a shift in the nation's political system, and a greater role for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai. However, the results, surprisingly, were overwhelmingly in favour of long-time President Robert Mugabe, who swept the presidential, parliamentary and senatorial polls under relatively credible and peaceful conditions. In this book, a valuable and accessible read for both students and scholars working in African politics, and those with a general interest in the politics of the region, Stephen Chan and Julia Gallagher explore the domestic and international context of these landmark elections. Drawing on extensive research among political elites, grassroots activists and ordinary voters, Chan and Gallagher examine the key personalities, dramatic events, and broader social and political context of Mugabe's success, and what this means as Zimbabwe moves towards a future without Mugabe.

Africa was a key focus of Britain’s foreign policy under Tony Blair. Military intervention in Sierra Leone, increases in aid and debt relief, and grand initiatives such as the Commission for Africa established the continent as a place in which Britain could ‘do good’. Britain and Africa under Blair: in pursuit of the good state critically explores Britain’s fascination with Africa. It argues that, under New Labour, Africa represented an area of policy that appeared to transcend politics. Gradually, it came to embody an ideal state activity around which politicians, officials and the wider public could coalesce, leaving behind more contentious domestic and international issues. Building on the story of Britain and Africa under Blair, the book, now available in paperback, draws wider conclusions about the role of ‘good’ and idealism in foreign policy. In particular, it discusses how international relationships provide opportunities to create and pursue ideals, and why they are essential for the well-being of political communities. It argues that state actors project the idea of ‘good’ onto idealised, distant objects, in order to restore a sense of the ‘good state’. The book makes a distinctive and original contribution to debates about the role of ethics in international relations, and will be of particular interest to academics, policy-makers and students of international relations, Africa and British foreign policy, as well as anyone interested in ethics in international affairs.

Africa was a key focus of Britain’s foreign policy under Tony Blair. Military intervention in Sierra Leone, increases in aid and debt relief, and grand initiatives such as the Commission for Africa established the continent as a place in which Britain could ‘do good’. Britain and Africa under Blair: in pursuit of the good state critically explores Britain’s fascination with Africa. It argues that, under New Labour, Africa represented an area of policy that appeared to transcend politics. Gradually, it came to embody an ideal state activity around which politicians, officials and the wider public could coalesce, leaving behind more contentious domestic and international issues. Building on the story of Britain and Africa under Blair, the book draws wider conclusions about the role of ‘good’ and idealism in foreign policy. In particular, it discusses how international relationships provide opportunities to create and pursue ideals, and why they are essential for the wellbeing of political communities. It argues that state actors project the idea of ‘good’ onto idealised, distant objects, in order to restore a sense of the ‘good state’. The book makes a distinctive and original contribution to debates about the role of ethics in international relations and will be of particular interest to academics, policy-makers and students of international relations, Africa and British foreign policy, and to anyone interested in ethics in international affairs.