We have reason to thank Vaughan for 'filling in the blanks' by producing such a rich, thoughtful and satisfying monograph.
THE JOURNAL OF IMPERIAL AND COMMONWEALTH HISTORY
Take[s] up the challenge of writing against the grain of state archives, hunting out Sudanese histories of political action and local theories of governance.
JOURNAL OF COLONIALISM AND COLONIAL HISTORY ... Read more
[An] important contribution to the scholarship on Sudanese history in particular and British imperial and African colonial history generally. Challenges the claim to peace and order that British colonial authorities in the Sudan repeated as their credo and mantra, and instead argues that the colonial state's promotion of violence was 'licensed'-meaning officially authorised.
ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW
Chris Vaughan provides an important case study of British rule in Darfur, in the western Sudan, showing how local populations 'actually shape the way the state is manifested at a local level' (6). ... provides a significant refinement of current scholarship discussing 're-tribalization' policies in the colonial era.
AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW
Vaughan has provided an interesting analysis of power in those pre-independence times, how different groups made the most of the opportunities afforded to them, how colonial rules and regulations were often a mere overlay on local customs and traditions. The colourful anecdotes from colonial archives are the icing on the cake.
AUSTRALASIAN REVIEW OF AFRICAN STUDIES
Offers a useful treatment of themes in the political history of Darfur from the sultanate to Sudanese independence and more specifically a distinctive well-defined thesis on the shaping of administrative policy and practice during the era of British rule ...The author has not written a social or cultural history but has argued for a broad characterization of continuing political relationships, and this is his contribution.
IJAHS
This study contributes significantly to scholarship about the colonial state, using evidence derived from the historical experience of colonial Darfur (1916-56).
AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW
There are no pat answers here. More - and even more-detailed - scholarly attention to the history of individual tribes might make the future more predictable. In framing such studies, historians would have in Darfur an engaging and provocative place to start.
SUDAN STUDIES
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