{"product_id":"prisoners-of-freedom-human-rights-and-the-african-poor-volume-14-9780520249240","title":"Prisoners of Freedom: Human Rights and the African Poor Volume 14","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Harri Englund\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: University of California Press\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Political Advocacy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this vivid ethnography, Harri Englund investigates how ideas of freedom impede struggles against poverty and injustice in emerging democracies. Reaching beyond a narrow focus on the national elite, \u003ci\u003ePrisoners of Freedom \u003c\/i\u003eshows how foreign aid and human rights activism hamper the pursuit of democratic citizenship in Africa. The book explores how activists' aspirations of self-improvement, pursued under harsh economic conditions, find in the human rights discourse a new means to distinguish oneself from the poor masses. Among expatriates, the emphasis on abstract human rights avoids confrontations with the political and business elites. Drawing on long-term research among the Malawian poor, Englund brings to life the personal circumstances of Malawian human rights activists, their expatriate benefactors, and the urban and rural poor as he develops a fresh perspective on freedom--one that recognizes the significance of debt, obligation, and civil virtues.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of California Press","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47613071032471,"sku":"9780520249240","price":2503.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9780520249240.webp?v=1775082399","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/prisoners-of-freedom-human-rights-and-the-african-poor-volume-14-9780520249240","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}