Living with ‘Others’

One of the enduring challenges of postcolonial Africa is that of living with ethnic difference within the complex legacies of colonial ethnic manipulation. Many studies on ethnic conflict focus on explaining embedded causal dynamics with little attention paid to ethnic pluralism. Kibaale region in Uganda provides an interesting case study where periods of conflict between the ‘indigenous’ people (the Banyoro) and ‘immigrants’ (the Bafuruki) have been interspersed with instances of coexistence. Whereas much scholarly work has discussed episodes of tension and conflict, the moments of peace have scarcely been touched upon. Living with ‘Others’: Ethnic Conflict and Pluralism in Uganda's Greater Kibaale Region contributes to ethnicity debates by exploring how the people of Kibaale imagine and live out possibilities for coexistence. In do so, Living with ‘Others’ makes a contribution to theories of ethnic pluralism and practical imaginations of coexistence in Kibaale. These can be applied to the rest of Uganda, Africa and elsewhere in the world where inter-ethnic conflicts have disrupted peace and resulted in human suffering.

Living with ‘Others’ demands to be read widely, by scholars of ethnopolitics, memory studies, decolonisation, migration and resettlement, multiculturalism, inclusive society, democratisation and counter-democracy as well as politicians, technocrats, and bureaucrats who want to engage with informative literature on electoral violence, service delivery, and civil society interventions in multi-ethnic societies. Civil society organisations dealing with peace and governance, human rights and freedom will also find the work informative and useful.

Reviewer’s Comments