Swaziland

Swaziland: The Dynamics of Political Modernization by Christian P. Potholm offers a compelling study of how a small Southern African kingdom navigated the turbulent transition from colonial dependency to modern nationhood. At its center is Sobhuza II, whose remarkable political skill enabled the Swazi monarchy not only to survive decolonization—a moment that spelled decline for many traditional African rulers—but to expand its authority into the structures of an independent state. Drawing on extensive fieldwork in Swaziland, Britain, and Ghana, Potholm examines how tradition, cultural cohesion, and strategic adaptation gave the monarchy unusual resilience in an era when nationalism and new political elites were expected to eclipse older forms of authority.

Tracing developments from the colonial encounter through independence in 1968, Potholm situates Swaziland’s experience within the broader patterns of Southern Africa, where apartheid South Africa and white-settler regimes in Rhodesia and Mozambique exerted constant pressure. The book’s analysis demonstrates how modernization did not automatically erode traditional authority but could, under certain conditions, reinforce and even strengthen it. By showing how Sobhuza II and the Swazi leadership transformed cultural institutions into effective tools of political consolidation, Swaziland challenges assumptions about African political change and offers a nuanced account of modernization that blends continuity and adaptation.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1972.