Donald Trump, Populism and Citizenship
This is a study of
how Donald J. Trump, his populist credentials notwithstanding, borrows
without acknowledgment and stubbornly refuses to come to terms with his
indebtedness. Taken together with mobility and conviviality, the
principle of incompleteness enables us to distinguish between
inclusionary and exclusionary forms of populism, and when it is fuelled
by ambitions of superiority and zero-sum games of conquest.
Nyamnjoh
challenges the reader to reflect on how stifling frameworks of
citizenship and belonging predicated upon hierarchies of humanity and
mobility, and driven by a burning but elusive quest for completeness,
can be constructively transcended by humility and conviviality inspired
by taking incompleteness seriously. Nyamnjoh argues that the logic and
practice of incompleteness is a healthy antidote to name-calling and
scapegoating others as undesirable outsiders, depending on the brand of
populism at play.
Recognising incompleteness also helps to
question sterile and problematic binaries such as those between elites
and the impoverished masses among whom populists go to fish for
political visibility, prominence and success.
Price range: £42.00 through £44.00
About the author
Francis B. Nyamnjoh joined the University of Cape Town in August 2009 as Professor of Social Anthropology from the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA), Dakar, Senegal, where he served as Head of Publications from July 2003 to July 2009. He has taught sociology, anthropology and communication studies at universities in Cameroon and Botswana, and has researched and written extensively on Cameroon and Botswana. In October 2012 he received a University of Cape Town Excellence Award for “Exceptional Contribution as a Professor in the Faculty of Humanities”. He is recipient of the “ASU African Hero 2013” annual award by the African Students Union, Ohio University, USA. He is: a B1 rated Professor and Researcher by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF); a Fellow of the Cameroon Academy of Science since August 2011; a fellow of the African Academy of Science since December 2014; a fellow of the Academy of Science of South Africa since 2016; and Chair of the Editorial Board of the South African Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) Press since January 2011. His scholarly books include: Africa’s Media, Democracy and the Politics of Belonging (2005); Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern Africa (2006); “C’est l’homme qui fait l’homme”: Cul-de-Sac Ubuntu-ism in Côte d’Ivoire (2015); and #RhodesMustFall: Nibbling at Resilient Colonialism in South Africa (2016).
Review
“This is without doubt the most interesting, thought-provoking
and inspiring book I have read on populism. Nyamnjoh not only shines new
light on familiar issues, but also fundamentally changes the way we
look at a debate that was at risk of becoming tired and repetitive. He
persuasively argues that we cannot hope to fully get to grips with
contemporary populism unless we first understand the nature of
citizenship, and the fact that projects of citizenship – like our own
human projects – are inherently incomplete. This turns out not only to
be key to fully appreciating one of the most important political
phenomena of our time, but also to resisting it. A must read.”
Nic Cheeseman, Professor of Democracy at the University of Birmingham, and author of How to Rig an Election
“In this innovative, rich and penetrating analysis, Nyamnjoh
reveals that at the root of populism lies a mindset unable to cope with
challenges of a complex world. Taking his cue from incompleteness,
mobility and conviviality, he offers an alternative approach which opens
new possibilities to negotiate our increasingly interconnected
existence on an ever-unfolding journey of inclusivity.”
Professor Bernard C. Lategan, Founding Director, Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS)
“Francis Nyamnjoh’s writings, now in their fourth decade,
consistently open fresh, varied and original lines of scholarship and
advocacy. Belying and transcending this book’s Trumpian title and
content, discoveries and pleasures await below if he’s new to you. They
could take you to places you haven’t read about or been. That’s so even
if it means going through the omnipresent (or lurking), ceaselessly
headlined Trump, to ‘get’ to him, and to get to where I think Francis
also wants to take us here.”
Milton Krieger, Emeritus Professor, Department of Global Humanities and Religions, Western Washington University
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