The Truth About Crime

Many African postcolonies are haunted by the spectre of: the waning efficacy of law enforcement, the ambiguity of authority, and the apparent abandonment of subjects by the state. The Truth About Crime, a book in progress, examines the problematic relation of law, theology, and sovereignty in contemporary African polities, especially in post-apartheid South Africa. It focuses on the meaning of crime to citizens of all stripes, on the “metaphysics of disorder” palpable in popular culture here, and on the kinds of forensic fetishes that seem to be conjured in its wake.