{"product_id":"saving-african-nature-an-ecological-mission-and-the-violence-of-history-hardback-9781509568680","title":"Saving African Nature; An Ecological Mission and the Violence of History (Hardback) 9781509568680","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eSaving African Nature\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eAn Ecological Mission and the Violence of History\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGuillaume Blanc (Author), Helen Morrison (Translated by)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781509568680, Polity Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 29 May 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e304 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.1 x 15.5 x 2.8 cm, 0.612 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Using diverse archival sources and offering rare attention to overlooked voices, \u003ci\u003eSaving African Nature\u003c\/i\u003e traces how experts, states, and rural communities shaped conservation in East Africa. It provides a powerful, multi-pronged analysis of the enduring power imbalances behind the region's purportedly pristine places.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRaf de Bont, Maastritcht University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"In \u003ci\u003eSaving African Nature\u003c\/i\u003e, Blanc exhaustively records the elitism, Malthusianism, and control that underlie the conservation mission in Africa. In stunning detail, he reveals the roots of this persistent violence in the unshakable period of its earliest development. The research is meticulous, the storytelling, artful, and the conclusions, profound and disturbing.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePaul Robbins, University of Wisconsin-Madison\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Guillaume Blanc offers a comprehensive micro-history of African environmentalism, giving a voice to each of the actors involved… In this he succeeds: his approach provides a better understanding of the politics of nature in Africa and helps us to make sense of what this postcolonial moment is all about.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eL'Histoire\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Guillaume Blanc shows how African nature has been and remains the subject of a myth, that of a universal and timeless Eden – a myth that has been reinforced by colonization, expulsion and exclusion.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eBallast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the colonization of Africa, European colonists set about creating game reserves in Africa, convinced that they would find in Africa a nature that no longer existed in Europe. After independence, and with the help of UNESCO and the WWF, African leaders continued to 'protect' the same nature, a nature that the whole world wanted to be pristine, wild and without humans – a timeless Garden of Eden. The consequences of this story are well known: millions of Africans were expelled from the land on which they had lived for generations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut how did this happen? Who organized this continuity between the colonial era and the era of independence? Guillaume Blanc answers these questions by immersing himself at the heart of a strange global ecological mission, launched in 1961: the 'African Special Project'. He tells the story of this project by bringing to life four worlds: the world of gentleman experts who saw Africa as the world's last natural refuge; the world of East African colonists who were retraining as international experts; the world of African leaders who sought to control their peoples while satisfying the demands of their Western partners; and finally, the world of local farmers and their families living on the land who were forced to adapt or abandon their homes. These men do not speak of the same nature, but step by step, their worlds draw closer together until they meet – and this is where violence erupts.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis impressive book lays bare the violence inherent in the creation of African game reserves and national parks and documents a hidden dimension of colonialism and its legacies.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction. Violence in a natural world: from why to how\u003cbr\u003eIn the light of the present\u003cbr\u003eSeizing the moment\u003cbr\u003eMaking choices\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA gallery of institutions\u003cbr\u003eA gallery of actors\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 1. Protecting Africa from the Africans. The world of the expert gentlemen\u003cbr\u003eArusha 1961. Changing everything in order to keep everything the same\u003cbr\u003eFrom imperialism to internationalism. History\u003cbr\u003eThe rise of a conservationist 'International'\u003cbr\u003eHow to conserve: globalize on the one hand, Africanize on the other\u003cbr\u003eProtect the planet, take action in Africa\u003cbr\u003eThe experts' (a)political quest\u003cbr\u003eFaces and people of Africa\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 2. Saving the East-African stronghold. The world of those who stayed\u003cbr\u003eArusha 1961. Working in a liberated Africa\u003cbr\u003eBeing part of the transition to independence. History\u003cbr\u003eThe East-African International\u003cbr\u003eIn the name of the last stronghold of nature\u003cbr\u003eWith the 'Africans', against the 'Africans'\u003cbr\u003eAn impossible dream\u003cbr\u003eA nightmare\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 3. Governing Ethiopia. The world-nation of African leaders\u003cbr\u003eArusha 1961. Protecting nature, playing politics\u003cbr\u003eThe natural extraversion of the African State. History\u003cbr\u003eCurrent status: applicant for aid\u003cbr\u003eAccepting dependence\u003cbr\u003eEthiopia first\u003cbr\u003eCursed farenj'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChapter 4. Living in a National Park\u003cbr\u003eThe global village of the anonymous\u003cbr\u003eArusha 1961, nature for some, a way of life for Others\u003cbr\u003eIn search of subalterns. History\u003cbr\u003eTekelakay, or how to resist\u003cbr\u003eMengest, the local big man\u003cbr\u003eSerateña, invisible employee\u003cbr\u003eDehaw: the poor man\u003cbr\u003eYemiyastekaklew, the resourceful one\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEpilogue. A little nature, (far) too much humanity \u003cbr\u003eWhen the postcolonial moment ended\u003cbr\u003eWhen the time of an enduring postcolony began\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcronyms\u003cbr\u003eBibliography\u003cbr\u003eNotes\u003cbr\u003eIndex\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: History [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on History\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22History%20%5BHB%5D%22\"\u003eHB\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Polity","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52441816170776,"sku":"9781509568680","price":50.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9781509568680.jpg?v=1785027117","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/saving-african-nature-an-ecological-mission-and-the-violence-of-history-hardback-9781509568680","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}