Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship

Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship explores how the legacies of colonial bureaucracy continue to shape political life after empire, focusing on the former British colonies of India, Cyprus, and Israel/Palestine. It offers a novel institutional theory of hybrid bureaucracy to explain how racialized bureaucratic practices were used to shape political identity and belonging in the new states.

Format: Hardback
Length: 280 pages
Publication date: 17 November 2022
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship delves into the enduring impact of colonial bureaucracy on political life after empire. By examining the former British colonies of India, Cyprus, and Israel/Palestine, the book explores how post-colonial states utilize their inherited administrative legacies to categorize and differentiate between loyal and suspicious subjects, as well as manage population movement, thereby shaping the practical implications of citizenship and belonging within their newly established boundaries.

The book presents a groundbreaking institutional theory of hybrid bureaucracy, which sheds light on how powerful administrators within state organizations have employed racialized bureaucratic practices to shape the formation of political identity and belonging in the new states. By integrating sociology and anthropology of the state with the study of institutions, this book offers a fresh perspective that challenges conventional notions of bureaucracy. It demonstrates that routine bureaucratic practices and persistent colonial logics continue to shape unequal political status in the present day.

Through its comprehensive analysis, Colonial Bureaucracy and Contemporary Citizenship provides valuable insights into the complex dynamics of post-colonial governance and offers a roadmap for understanding the ongoing challenges of political inequality and social exclusion in the world today.

ISBN-13: 9781316511664