Comprising two initial commentaries by Côme Salvaire (Les Afriques dans le Monde) and Graeme Young (University of Glasgow), the symposium offers a concise overview and appraisal of the significance and originality of this work. Both reviewers draw attention to the clearly defined and nuanced analytical framework and praise how Goodfellow expertly navigates the challenges of theoretical generalisation and empirical specificity, 'deftly combining top-down structural analysis with an attention to the potential of bottom-up spaces for agency'.
For Salvaire, this makes the book 'one of the most important studies published on African cities in the past two decades', whilst for Young it offers a 'remarkable contribution to our understanding of the political economy of modern urban Africa'.
Goodfellow's response is simultaneously humble and generous in engaging with how the reviewers extend his own thinking, particularly in relation to the idea of 'frontiers as spaces in which old hierarchies can be discarded and new ones built' and by returning to the central theme of the politics of scale. By giving the author the opportunity to respond, the symposium transcends the usual book review format and creates a platform to engage with the ideas at the heart of the work.
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The book is available in hardback and paperback and is also available Open Access .