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African Political Systems (New ed)

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This work, which involved the collaboration of leading figures in the field of social anthropology, undertakes the comparative study of African political systems, as an example of the wider field of the study of political institutions in traditional societies in general.

The book is based upon file studies of eight African societies - the Zulu, the Ngwato, the Bemba, the Kindgom of Ankole, the Kede, the Bantu, the Tallensi and the Nuer - in which the types of social organization found are described, and the principles underlying these traditional forms of government are analyzed. "African Political Systems" is distinguished by being the study which largely established the comparative method as a primary instrument in anthropological investigation.

First published in 1940, the continuing importance of the book lies in its illustration of the application of the comparative method, in the accounts of different African societies by distinguished anthropologists who were instrumental in establishing the field, and in the unique portraits it presents of traditional African societies at the end of the colonial era, poised upon the brink of an era of great change.

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Product Details
Kegan Paul
0710302452 / 9780710302458
Paperback
320.96
04/01/1987
United Kingdom
256 pages, 5 maps, index
156 x 234 mm, 450 grams
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