In this vivid ethnography, Harri Englund investigates how ideas of freedom impede struggles against poverty and injustice in emerging democracies. Reaching beyond a narrow focus on the national elite, Prisoners of Freedom shows how foreign aid and human rights activism hamper the pursuit of democratic citizenship in Africa. The book explores how activists' aspirations of self-improvement, pursued under harsh economic conditions, find in the human rights discourse a new means to distinguish oneself from the poor masses. Among expatriates, the emphasis on abstract human rights avoids confrontations with the political and business elites. Drawing on long-term research among the Malawian poor, Englund brings to life the personal circumstances of Malawian human rights activists, their expatriate benefactors, and the urban and rural poor as he develops a fresh perspective on freedom--one that recognizes the significance of debt, obligation, and civil virtues.
Author(s): Harri Englund
Edition: 1
Year: 2006
Language: English
Pages: 260
Contents......Page 8
Acknowledgments......Page 10
List of Abbreviations......Page 12
Introduction......Page 14
1. The Situation of Human Rights: Debating Governance and Freedom......Page 38
2. Rights as Freedoms: Translating Human Rights......Page 60
3. The Hidden Lessons of Civic Education: Training the Torchbearers......Page 83
4. Watchdogs Unleashed?: Encountering “the Grassroots”......Page 112
5. Legal Aid for Abused Labor: Individualizing Grievances......Page 136
6. Crimes of Exploitation: Dehumanizing a Lorry Boy......Page 158
7. Human Rights and Moral Panics: Listening to Popular Grievances......Page 183
8. Redeeming Freedom......Page 206
Notes......Page 218
References......Page 238
C......Page 256
K......Page 257
N......Page 258
W......Page 259
Z......Page 260
