The empirically rich and analytically provocative contributions to this volume focus on Africa and on the process through which commodities come into being. Commodifcation is shown to be a powerful tool towards understanding the modern world.

Wim M. J. van Binsbergen is senior researcher at the African Studies Centre in Leiden and professor of the Foundations of Intercultural Philosophy at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Peter L. Geschiere is professor of African anthropology at the University of Amsterdam (the Netherlands).