In Performance and Politics in Tanzania, Laura Edmondson examines how politics, social values, and gender are expressed on stage. Now a disappearing tradition, Tanzanian popular theatre integrates comic sketches, acrobatics, melodrama, song, and dance to produce lively commentaries on what it means to be Tanzanian. These dynamic shows invite improvisation and spontaneous and raucous audience participation as they explore popular sentiments. Edmondson asserts that these performances overturn the boundary between official and popular art and offer a new way of thinking about African popular culture. She discusses how the blurring of state agendas and local desires presents a charged environment for the exploration of Tanzanian political and social realities: What is the meaning of democracy and who gets to define it? Who is in power, and how is power exposed or concealed? What is the role of tradition in a postsocialist state? How will the future of the nation be negotiated? This engaging book provides important insight into the complexity of popular forms of expression during a time of political and social change in East Africa.

President Juliys Kambarge Nyerere was the first President of the United Republic of Tanzania and Founder of the Nation. He came into power through the ballot ñ a democratic process held in 1961, and remained in power for more than two decades. Mwalimu Nyerere was a gifted and morally upright man. He was a true son of Africa ñ a PanñAfricanist, a nationalist, charismatic orator, steadfast thinker, diplomat and above all a teacher. He chose to be called simply ëMwalimuí ñ ëTeacherí. Throughout his term of office he gave hundreds of speeches; some were prepared in advance others given extemporaneously. The Mwalimu Nyerere Foundation (founded by Mwalimu Nyerere himself in 1996) has assembled and put his speeches and writings into books. The Quotations in this book are only those picked from the books in Freedom Series and his University Lectures. They are presented and arranged under the following themes: Philosophy of life, Equality of Man, Colonialism, Tanzaniaís Revolution, Democracy, Selfñreliance, Rural Development, Nonñalignment, African Unity, the United Nations, Leadership and Education.

Mr. Justice Barnabas Samatta retired from the Bench in July 2007 after a distinguished legal career spanning 41 years. Of the four decades of active life, he was a State Attorney, half of which he was the Director of Public Prosecutions. For the rest of the period, he was at then bench of the High Court of Tanzania and ten years in the Court of Appeal. At his retirement, he had spent seven years as Chief Justice of the country, thus at the helm of one of the three branches of the State. This book reproduces some of the leading judgements written by Justice Samatta. It highlights, in a critical fashion, some of his beliefs and observations as embedded in his decisions and speeches. This is to celebrate him as an example of an ethical lawyer whose integrity cannot be questioned, making him a worthy model for the younger generation to emulate and draw inspiration from. Justice Samatta's decisions touched on key areas of: Rule of Law and the Consitution, where he emphasised that the constitution crystallises a consensus among citizens as to the nature and character of their polity and governance; Access to Justice, about which he believed that the doors to justice should be opened to all regardless of their station in life or economic position; Ethics, Integrity and Professionalism where he frequently quoted Nyerere 'There are some jobs in our society that can be done by unethical people...Being a judge or a magistrate is not one of these jobs...'; and Environmental Law where he argued 'The vulnerability of our planet has reached such a depressing degree that there is no greater service judges can render to mankind than playing their role in the protection of the environment...' He summarised his life-long conviction by saying: 'Let everyone in our society give justice a chance to prevail'.

Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa brings together important essays on songs and politics in the region and beyond. Through an analysis of the voices from the margins, the authors (contributors) enter into the debate on cultural productions and political change. The theme that cuts across the contributions is that songs are, in addition to their aesthetic appeal, vital tools for exploring how political and social events are shaped and understood by citizens. Urbanization, commercialization and globalization contributed to the vibrancy of East African popular music of the 1990s which was marked by hybridity, syncretism and innovativeness. It was a product of social processes inseparable from society, politics, and other critical issues of the day. The lyrics explored socials cosmology, worldviews, class and gender relations, interpretations of value systems, and other political, social and cultural practices, even as they entertained and provided momentary escape for audience members. Frustration, disenchantments, and emotional fatigue resulting from corrupt and dictatorial political systems that stifle the potential of citizens drove and still drive popular music in Eastern Africa as in most of Africa. Songs and Politics in Eastern Africa is an important addition to the study of popular culture and its role in shaping society.

This book is the first comprehensive contribution to understanding the character of important societal transitions in Tanzania during Benjamin Mkapa's presidency (1995- 2005). The analyses of the trajectory of these transitions are conducted against the background of the development model of Tanzanian's first president, Julius Nyerere (1961-1985), a model with lasting influence on the country. This approach enables an understanding of continuities and discontinuities in Tanzania over time in areas such as development strategy an ideology, agrarian-land, gender and forestry issues, economic liberalization, development assistance, corruption and political change. The period of Mkapa's presidency is particularly important because it represents the first phase of Tanzania's multi- party political system. Mkapa's government initially faced a gloomy economic situation. Although Mkapa's crusade against corruption lost direction, his presidency was characterised by relatively high growth rates and a stable macro-economy. Rural and agrarian transitions were dominated by diversification rather than productivity growth and transformation. Rural attitudes in favour of land markets emerged only slowly but formal land disputes showed more respect for women's rights. Some space emerged for widening local participation in forest management, but rural dynamics was mainly found in trading settlements feeding on economic liberalization and artisanal mining. The transitions documented and analysed of Mkapa's presidency, however, indicate only limited transformational change. Rural poverty is therefore likely to remain deep and the sustainability of economic development to be at risk in the future. Mkapa was, however, able to protect the legacy of peace and political stability of Nyerere, but there were nevertheless important challenges to the first multiparty elections and governance, and particularly in Zanzibar. The post- script (covering 2005 2010), indicates that the incumbent president, Jakaya Kikwete, has yet to prove that he can change this legacy of Mkapa. Co-published with the Nordic Africa Institute and the Sokoine University of Agriculture, the contributions to the eleven chapters of this book are evenly shared between Tanzanian, Nordic and other European researchers with a long-term commitment to Tanzanian development research. he book is dedicated to the youth of Tanzania.

The Swahili coast of Africa is often described as a paragon of transnational culture and racial fluidity. Yet, during a brief period in the 1960s, Zanzibar became deeply divided along racial lines as intellectuals and activists, engaged in bitter debates about their nation's future, ignited a deadly conflict that spread across the island. War of Words, War of Stones explores how violently enforced racial boundaries arose from Zanzibar's entangled history. Jonathon Glassman challenges explanations that assume racial thinking in the colonial world reflected only Western ideas. He shows how Africans crafted competing ways of categorizing race from local tradition and engagement with the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds.