The Palgrave Handbook of Violence in Africa

This handbook brings together global research on violence in Africa from academics, practitioners and activists across a multitude of subjects. It seeks to create the widest possible space for debate, discussion, and analysis of the broad range of issues and problems of violence. It transcends disciplinary and geographic borders in order to create new ground in this space. The chapters in this handbook cover diverse themes such as: the topography of violence, technologies of violence, terrorism, civil war and insurgent violence, child soldiers and violence, epistemic violence, structural violence, violence and memory, violence and the law, cultural mechanisms for creating, sustaining, resisting, and mitigating violence, political violence, violence in moments of religious, social and geo-political transformation, gender and violence, violence against nature, and violence and social media. It centralises new meanings, understandings and fresh ideas to the concept of violence, broadening its scope, and contributing to the debates that will shape Africa’s common future. It shines a light on key elements of African culture and the cultural mechanisms for creating, sustaining, resisting, and mitigating violence in Africa. It strives to be relevant to the needs and concerns of African societies by suggesting practical solutions for overcoming violence. This book ties in with development initiatives in Africa, such as Agenda 2063, for the Africa We Want, and the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Obert Bernard Mlambo is Associate Professor in Classical studies and history at the University of Zimbabwe. He is former Georg Forster Research Fellow and former Guest Scholar at the Global South Studies Center of the University of Cologne, Germany. His research is broadly framed by the issues of violence, masculinity, gender and colonialism. His book titled Land Expropriation in Ancient Rome and Contemporary Zimbabwe: Veterans, Masculinity and War (Bloomsbury, 2022) brings the Western Classics and Africa together in a historical context, looking at military violence and military veterans in both Classical and African history and society. He has co-edited (with Ezra Chitando, Sakhmuzi Mfecane and Kopano Ratele) the forthcoming Palgrave Handbook of Men and Masculinities in Africa. Obert Mlambo is currently working on two books, one provisionally titled The Classics and Africa: Intercultural and Postcolonial Dialogue with John McClymont, and another provisionally titled Non-Western Approaches to the Study of Classics.

Ezra Chitando serves as Professor in Religious Studies at the University of Zimbabwe, and has served as the Desmond Tutu Extraordinary Professor for Social Justice at the University of Western Cape, South Africa. He has a wide range of research and publication interests, including violence against women, political violence and peace-building. He co-edited the volume Justice Not Silence: Churches Facing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.