Populism and Nationalism: a Comment on D.A. Low's "The Advent of Populism in Buganda"

In: Comparative studies in society and history, Volume 6, Issue 4, p. 445-448

Abstract

Anthony Low is surely right in urging students of modern African politics to probe deeper into African society and culture than they have been accustomed to do. In part because of the speed with which political events have unfolded during the past decade – making it difficult enough just to keep up with day-to-day events – and in part because of the disjunction between traditional socio-cultural groupings and modern political boundaries – making it easy to believe that the former are irrelevant to the latter – much recent writing on African affairs, even when "well informed", has been exceedingly superficial. Low's work on Buganda, including especially his sensitive study of Ganda-British relations during the early years of the Protectorate, stands as an admirable exception. Both in the earlier studies and in his present analysis of populism, twentieth-century Baganda are shown to act in ways, and out of sentiments, that are understandably related both to contemporary circumstances and to the Ganda past.