‘Rajen Harshe’s book rightly questions Western scholarship’s tendency to universalise its interpretations of the world, particularly of Africa – and goes on to craft a non-Western viewpoint for this enterprise. The author argues that contemporary Africa needs to be studied against the continuum of its colonial, anti-colonial, and post-colonial experience, which includes the impact of imperialism and the powerful forces of globalisation and market capitalism... This important study will serve those looking to better understand issues pertaining to the Africa of today. It is like a tour d’horizon: part political history and partly a history of ideas, and coming from a writer from the Global South, it compels attention.' Rajiv Bhatia, Distinguished Fellow, Gateway House and a former Indian High Commissioner to South Africa, Kenya, and Lesotho