A detailed and rich account of the historical development of chiefship and of the state in southern Sudan... challenges lazy conceptions that represent South Sudan as lacking a political culture and history...particularly relevant to the current period.
AFRICA AT LSE BLOG
This highly readable and engaging book offers new insights into southern Sudanese experiences.
COMMONWEALTH AND COMPARATIVE POLITICS
[A] masterful book.
GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
This highly informed and informative volume is a great addition to the literature on state-society relations in South Sudan. ... Likely to become a measuring stick for future anthropological works on South and should also be of interest to scholars of state-society relations and traditional authorities in other parts of Africa.
JOURNAL OF MODERN AFRICAN STUDIES
The first thorough study that has been done on the institution of chiefships in South Sudan. [Leonardi] has laid a firm foundation for the further study of this topic by other scholars. ... This book is a valuable resource for graduate students, academics, researchers, policy makers, civil societies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AFRICAN HISTORICAL STUDIES
[Employs] a well-considered multi-disciplinary approach in tackling this lively issue and, as such, it would be of interest to students and scholars of African studies and particularly to those in the fields of anthropology, political science, history, law and economics.
SUDAN STUDIES
Leonardi's book will for a long time be central to any deeper understanding of political structures in the newest African country. . . . This is an important book which should be read widely among all those concerned with African history and politics, not just Sudan specialists.
AFRICAN STUDIES REVIEW
[Leonardi] combines an impressive mastery of the scholarship on South Sudan and Sudan, with very thorough archival research and fieldwork. At the same time, she brings to bear wide reading in related literatures, to connect the issues that she documents with broader scholarly debates. ... a quite original contribution to the study of politics and the state in modern Africa.
- Professor Charles Ambler, University of Texas at El Paso,