Focuses on pastoralism, politics, policies and development in northern Kenya and southern Ethiopia. It is based on anthropological field research over a period of thirty-four years and attempts a synthesis of historical findings and political anthropology, including studies carried out from a perspective of development intervention. Presenting a detailed ethnographic view of recent events of ethnic violence in Kenya, the authors analyse how local patterns of conflict among pastoralists were influenced by both national and regional politics, which have encouraged an increased tendency of...

A study of the longue duree of a marginalized part of northern Kenya, examining the process of territorialization and the role of Islam in politicizing ethnicity.

What does it mean to "fit in?" This volume of essays demystifies the discourse on identity, challenging common assumptions about role of similarity in inclusion and exclusion. Armed with intimate knowledge of local social structures, these essays tease out the ways in which ethnicity, religion and nationalism are used for social integration.