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SUMMARY:Book Launch: "Arbitrary States: Social Control and Modern Authorit
 arianism in Museveni's Uganda" - Rebecca Tapscott\, Ambizione Research Fel
 low\, the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy\, the Graduate Institute of
  International and Development Studies\, Geneva
DTSTART:20220309T170000Z
DTEND:20220309T183000Z
UID:TALK168965@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Nuala Macallister
DESCRIPTION:Dr Rebecca Tapscott will speak about her new book in this Zoom
  event\, co-hosted by CGHR and the Centre of African Studies\n\nRebecca wi
 ll be joined by Professor Adam Branch (Director\, Centre of African Studie
 s) as discussant.\n\nRegistration by Eventbrite is essential to receive th
 e Zoom link:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-arbitrary-states-
 oup-2021-by-dr-rebecca-tapscott-tickets-250066775457?aff=ebdsoporgprofile\
 n\n*Abstract*: In recent years\, scholars have noted the rise of a particu
 lar type of authoritarianism worldwide\, in which rulers manipulate instit
 utions designed to implement the rule of law so that they instead facilita
 te the exercise of arbitrary power. Even as scholars puzzle over this seem
 ingly new phenomenon\, scholarship on African politics offers helpful answ
 ers. \n\nThis book places literature on the post-colonial African state in
  conversation with literature on modern authoritarianism\, using this to f
 rame over ten months of qualitative field research on Uganda's informal se
 curity actors - including vigilante groups\, local militias\, and communit
 y police. Based on this research\, the book presents an original framework
  - called 'institutionalized arbitrariness' - to explain how modern author
 itarian rulers project arbitrary power even in environments of relatively 
 functional state institutions\, checks and balances and the rule of law. I
 n regimes characterized by institutionalized arbitrariness\, the state's s
 tochastic assertions and withdrawals of power inject unpredictability into
  the political relationship between both local authorities and citizens. T
 his arrangement makes it difficult for citizens to predict which authority
 \, if any\, will claim jurisdiction in a given scenario\, and what rules w
 ill apply. This environment of pervasive political unpredictability limits
  space for collective action and political claim-making\, while keeping ci
 tizens 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 authoritari
 anism\, state-building\, and state consolidation.\n\n*Author*: \n\nRebecca
  Tapscott is an Ambizione Research Fellow at the Albert Hirschman Centre o
 n Democracy at the Graduate Institute in Geneva\, and a visiting fellow at
  the London School of Economics' Centre on Africa. Her research focuses on
  authoritarianism\, violence\, and state formation in developing countries
 . She has over a decade of experience working on development and governanc
 e in sub-Saharan Africa. Her internationally-recognized research appears i
 n numerous academic journals including Development and Change\, African Af
 fairs\, and Disasters.
LOCATION:https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launch-arbitrary-states-oup-2
 021-by-dr-rebecca-tapscott-tickets-250066775457?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
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