“Sharp, eloquent, and utterly persuasive, this remarkable ethnography changes the way we look at violence and war. In Lubkemann’s skillful hands, we are witness to not just resilience but the constant forging of new social fabric in the most improbable of human conditions.”

Caroline Bledsoe, Melville J. Herskovits Professor of African Studies, Northwestern University

“Culture in Chaos is the product of over a decade of research in Mozambique and South Africa, and should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the Mozambique conflict, and indeed conflict and displacement more generally. Lubkemann’s work is empirically rich and theoretically innovative, seeking to understand how and why particular forms of violence emerge as part of the ‘social condition’ of war. It reinforces the point—often ignored—that war and displacement evolve in different ways, with often unexpected outcomes.”

Richard Black, Co-Director, Sussex Centre for Migration Research, University of Sussex

“Lubkemann makes a compelling case for a new kind of anthropology of war. His book will be widely read, cited, and debated not only by regional scholars, but also among academics and policymakers—in Africa and beyond—seeking to better understand the complexities of war and human displacement.”

Harry G. West, School of Oriental and African Studies

"This is an innovative book on war, which has relevance well beyond Mozambique or even Africa. It advances a thesis that ought to change the ways in which scholars . . . approach the question of conflict--particualrly in non-western societies. It is certainly a must-read book for those who are interested in the consequences of war in southern Africa and for those who want to come to an understanding of conflict that eschews comfortable concepts and facile explanations."

Patrick Chabal | International Affairs

"An absorbing and thought-provoking book, this monograph is sure to be of interest to those concerned not only with the history of Mozambique and its post-colonial conflict and antecedents, but also to anyone intrested in the dynamics of conflict and migration in relation to questions of agency and social action."

Tania Kaiser | Journal of Refugee Studies

"This vivid ethnography is a compelling narrative of resilience and innovation, and how the experience of war fails to produce a cultural tabula rasa."

Choice

"The book presents rich historical, demographic, and ethnographic data, and addresses important concerns in political anthropology, refugee studies, and other social sciences. These include the analysis of displaceent vis-à-vis migration, the critical rethinking of the state as a primary political form, and the theorization of social agency in war. The writing is accessible, the arguments clearly repesented, and the book speaks to a broad audience of scholars interested in agency, violence, migration, and social history."

Ramah McKay | International Journal of African Historical Studies

"A major contribution to the debate on the war in Mozambique, but also more generally on violent conflicts and migration flows in Africa and beyond."

Journal of Anthropological Research

"In providing a detailed analysis of the .micro-politics’ of wartime social processes in Mozambique, this book also represents a new approach to the anthropology of war, which should be of interest to anyone working on violent conflict, displacement and migration."

Journal of Peace Research