Fanon

Published in 1986, this study of Frantz Fanon reads him through two lenses at once: as a political philosopher and as a political sociologist of Africa. Its central argument is that Fanon's political writings should be understood through his interest in how power and social relations are organized in colonial and postcolonial Africa, and what those arrangements mean for conflict across the continent.

The book examines Fanon's effort to account for the dysfunctions and tensions of African politics through the lens of class, and through the historical forces that shape and limit how classes act politically. The analysis is presented as both challenging and perceptive. It also gives weight to the moral framework behind Fanon's theories, which the author treats as essential because it expresses his conviction that African political systems can only be rebuilt through revolutionary change.