This book explores Malawi’s recent history in light of longer-term historical developments, contributing important new insights to debates about migration, citizenship, chieftaincy, language, cultural practice, anti-colonialism and nationalism.

The book is organised around five key themes: Rethinking Kamuzu Banda’s Malawi; Rural Development and Agricultural Production; Power and Politics from pre- to post-colony; Malawi and the Southern African Region; and ‘Culture’ and Cultural Production. The focus on a single country facilitates consideration of local particularities, as well as revealing similarities in the trajectories and challenges shared with other countries in Africa. The book provides a nuanced understanding of Hastings Kamuzu Banda (Malawi’s first Prime Minister and President, 1964-94) and the legacy of his rule. Chapters analyse decolonisation in a political and a cultural sense, and show how the beginning and end of colonial rule were gradual processes rather than sharp ruptures. Individual chapters expand our knowledge of the history of public health, development, rural livelihoods, food production, and agricultural policy, as well as prompting new debate on migration, citizenship, chieftaincy, language, cultural practice, anti-colonialism and nationalism.

This book will be of particular interest to scholars of Malawi and the wider Southern African region. Nine of the chapters were originally published in a special issue of the Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS) (2020, Vol. 46, No. 2). This volume contains a revised Introduction, five additional chapters, all previously published in JSAS, and a new Afterword.