Here, David develops a fresh re-reading of classic ethnographic cases, analysing the notion of sovereignty while bringing in his own theoretical work as a contribution to wider debates on, for example, violence. Additionally, the book contains academically ground-breaking essays by Marshall Sahlins and will be a treat to anyone who is more theoretically inclined.

by Andris Suvajevs

Analytical table of contents ix Preface xiii
introduction

CHAPTER 1
The original political society

CHAPTER 2
The divine kingship of the Shilluk: On violence, utopia,
and the human condition

CHAPTER 3
The atemporal dimensions of history: In the old Kongo
kingdom, for example

CHAPTER 4
The stranger-kingship of the Mexica

CHAPTER 5
The people as nursemaids of the king: Notes on monarchs
as children, women’s uprisings, and the return of the ancestral dead in central Madagascar

CHAPTER 6
The cultural politics of core–periphery relations

CHAPTER 7
Notes on the politics of divine kingship: Or, elements for an archaeology of sovereignty
Bibliography
Index