More than two decades ago, political theorist Patrick Chabal, together with Jean-Pascal Daloz, advanced a bold argument in their book Africa Works: Disorder as Political Instrument. The work challenged conventional understandings of governance in Africa by suggesting that what appeared as chaos, corruption, or dysfunction was not simply failure. Instead, disorder itself could serve as a tool of political and economic strategy. At the time, the claim was both controversial and illuminating, reshaping how observers understood power in African states. Today, Chabal’s insights resonate far beyond Africa and increasingly speak to the evolving political climate of the United States.
Chabal’s Provocative Voice in Political Thought
Patrick Chabal was never a writer content with subtle diplomacy. His scholarship was direct, uncompromising, and willing to provoke. In a world where academic prose often feels sanitized and distant from real political struggles, Chabal’s work cut through the noise with sharp, urgent clarity. His analysis forced readers to confront uncomfortable truths: that disorder is not merely dysfunction but often a deliberate and rational mechanism of governance. This intellectual intensity, still striking after his passing in 2014, has only become more essential in our own era of political uncertainty.
Disorder as a Rational Political Strategy
At the heart of Chabal and Daloz’s thesis lies a paradoxical observation: political disorder can be highly functional. By disregarding formal institutions and rules, leaders often cultivate informal networks of loyalty, patronage, and vertical relationships that allow them to consolidate authority. Rather than being a symptom of weakness, this apparent chaos can reward those skilled in navigating it. For years, this analysis was primarily applied to African states. Yet, as global politics evolve, the distinctions between the Global South and North grow less pronounced, revealing how widespread these dynamics truly are.
From Africa to America: Expanding the Lens
Commentators on American politics increasingly find themselves asking familiar questions once directed at African governance: Why do institutions seem unable to function effectively? Why is rational reform so elusive? Why does disorder persist despite widespread recognition of its harms? These questions echo the very puzzle Chabal and Daloz addressed decades ago. The striking reality is that the same frameworks once used to explain African political life now illuminate dynamics in the United States, where patronage, personalized authority, and disregard for formal institutions have become highly visible.
Personalized Power and Informal Governance
One of Chabal’s key observations was the tendency toward vertical and personalized governance. Leaders rely less on institutional frameworks and more on direct relationships, where loyalty outweighs formal rules. In recent years, American politics has offered stark examples of this phenomenon. Statements by former President Donald Trump, where decisions of immense consequence were framed as personal whims rather than institutional processes, exemplify the same form of informal, personalized power Chabal described. The result is not random chaos, but rather a rational system that thrives on unpredictability and personal authority.
The Persistence of Patrimonialism
Classical political theory long assumed that modern states would gradually eliminate patrimonial practices, where leaders treat public office as a personal asset. Chabal and Daloz challenged this assumption, showing how patrimonialism and state institutions coexist. In the American context, reports of political leaders benefiting personally from foreign gifts, favors, or financial entanglements further erode Weberian ideals of impartial bureaucracy. These developments demonstrate the persistence of patrimonial logic in contexts once thought immune to it.
Disorder Does Not Mean Irrationality
Perhaps the most important lesson from Chabal’s work is that disorder should not be equated with irrationality. Instead, it reflects a system where rules operate informally and outside codified structures. What looks like dysfunction to outsiders often represents a rational, predictable way of maintaining power. This framework is invaluable for understanding contemporary America, where reliance on formal institutions alone no longer explains the complexity of political behavior. The supposed divide between “orderly” Western democracies and “disordered” African states is now far less credible than it once seemed.
Why Comparative Perspectives Matter
Chabal’s scholarship reminds us of the value of comparative political analysis. By looking beyond the narrow confines of Western political theory, we gain new tools to make sense of the shifting landscapes of governance worldwide. While critics once argued that Chabal painted with too broad a brush, the very breadth of his analysis now feels indispensable. In a world defined by uncertainty and disruption, the willingness to think comparatively and provocatively may be the only way to grasp emerging realities.
Conclusion: A Timely Relevance
The enduring relevance of Patrick Chabal’s ideas highlights a sobering truth: disorder is not disappearing, nor is it confined to any single region. Instead, it is increasingly a shared condition of global politics, including in places once thought to be immune. The United States now grapples with many of the same challenges once used to define African governance, making Chabal’s provocative thesis more urgent than ever. His work pushes us to recognize that what appears as chaos may in fact be deliberate, strategic, and rational and that only by acknowledging this can we begin to understand the evolving nature of power in today’s world.
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