3 - The Great Lakes Region and Southern Africa in Historical and Contemporary Perspective

Abstract

The two volumes under review offer rich insights into the checkered histories but also the present and future prospects of the Great Lakes Region (GLR) of east and central africa and the Southern Africa region. The volumes lay out in greater depth the varied social struggles and political contests that have defined the two regions in quite important ways. These volumes have intersecting and contrasting thrusts. While Murindwa-Rutanga’s Politics, Religion and Power in the Great Lakes Region (hereafter PRP) is largely steeped in historical inquiry – the precolonial and colonial power struggles and the role of religion, with rather limited glimpse into contemporary implications – Region-Building in Southern Africa (hereafter RBSA) starts off with a somewhat truncated historical reference but proceeds to give considerable attention to contemporary attempts at ‘region-building’ in Southern Africa.