Power And Its Disguises

‘Gledhill manages to cover a lot of ground in drawing out the thematic and theoretical focuses of political anthropology, brilliantly giving them life through a wide variety of empirical examples. ... The book will serve as a very good introduction to political anthropology for any student of power and politics.’ Journal of Peace Research

In this fully updated edition of Power and Its Disguises, John Gledhill explores both the complexities of local situations and the power relations that shape the global order. He shows how historically informed anthropological perspectives can contribute to debates about democratisation by incorporating a ‘view from below’ and revealing forces that shape power relations behind the formal facade of state institutions. Examples are drawn from Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Sri Lanka, amongst others.