Dr. Sabaratnam has written an original and compelling book on the dialectics of international development practices in Mozambique. Based on sophisticated ethnographic research, combined with a superb grasp of the postcolonial and international relations literature, Decolonising Intervention will quickly establish itself as the benchmark for originality in de-colonial scholarship. Rarely does one find a book on critical international relations, and especially on state-building in Africa, written with such unrelenting clarity.
Randolph B. Persaud, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC This powerful book provides a brilliant and devastating critique of international statebuilding interventions. Through a compelling analysis of the politics of intervention in Mozambique and the experiences of those whose lives are affected, Sabaratnam shows how relations of colonial difference have shaped and enabled these practices. Highly engaging and accessible, yet analytically incisive and authoritative, Decolonising Intervention is essential and indelible reading for international relations scholars, aid practitioners, and anyone concerned with questions of conflict, peace, justice and responsibility.
Devon Curtis, Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge Indeed, if international relations as a discipline wants to take forward its aim of better understanding world politics, it can benefit greatly from Sabaratnam’s contribution to debates on the ‘coloniality of power’ and the much wider application of the decolonizing strategies it presents. Decolonising Intervention is an indispensable resource for those interested in the relationship between international intervention and statebuilding.
Journal Of Intervention and Statebuilding