Uchenna Okeja, ed. Routledge Handbook of African Political Philosophy. Routledge, 2023. 436 pp. $47.19. Paperback. ISBN: 9780367698423.
Year: 2026
Type: book-review
Abstract: aptly illuminates the contested philosophical arguments advanced by African philosophers on the trajectory of political questions on the continent.The volume succinctly articulates the fundamentals of African political philosophy regarding traditions, key debates, and misunderstandings inherent in Africa.Therefore, Okeja's edited volume makes a significant contribution to the accumulation and development of philosophical arguments that have existed in African historical accounts and continue to shape African societies.The book aptly captures the totality of the debates and intricacies that constitute African political philosophy.The volume comprises an introductory component or chapter contributed by the editor and five thematic parts that are subdivided into twenty-nine other chapters.In Chapter One, Uchenna Okeja sets out to introduce the handbook by briefly introducing and exploring the old anxieties shaped by the contested African history and the contemporary imaginations emanating from the constitution of African political philosophy as a diasporan affair.Put simply, Okeja elucidates the impact of the contemporary constitution of African political philosophy on knowledge created about the continent that lacks emancipatory traits.Indeed, the usurpation of African studies by experts external to Africa has generated controversies, distortions, and sometimes fabrications on what really constitutes African philosophy.As lamented by Okeja, the outcome has been the portrayal of African political philosophy as having weak foundations in addition to having its ideas by experts detached from realities on the African continent.Nevertheless, left in this analysis are distorted aspects of African legal philosophy that have been diluted by Eurocentric politico-legal philosophy.The chapters in Part One of the book provide a comprehensive account of the foundational and methodological themes, concepts, and inquiries inherent in African political philosophy.Comprising five chapters, the section captures the totality of how literature serves as a source of concepts and themes for comprehending African political philosophy.In addition, Part One also satisfactorily sheds light on the concept of the state and African state, the philosophical idea of freedom and its concomitant implications, issues of citizenship in modern Africa as influenced by the Westphalian system, and how tradition and modernity could comparatively benefit Africa.The significance of pragmatic history in a postgenocide political life and society such as Rwanda is also splendidly dealt with in this part of the book.
Source: African Studies Review
Author: Torque Mude
Institution: University of Namibia
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W7128680497
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