Sovereignty in Exile

"Wilson has produced an impressive work of political ethnography based on over two years of field study of the Polisario refugee camps as the Bedouins attempt to replace tribal loyalties with integrated social relationships reflecting modern statehood...[A]n in-depth analysis of the search for sovereign existence of an exile community, as well as a significant contribution to the workings of refugee camps in general."—Choice

"[A] perceptive ethnography of governance in refugee camps run by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic...Sovereignty in Exile exemplifies one of political anthropology’s longstanding strengths of providing a more elastic, and less normative, approach to understanding relations of authority, while taking this approach in new and exciting directions."—Allegra lab

"Based upon a diverse and well-developed social network in a context usually closed to foreign researchers, Sovereignty in Exile is an extraordinary work of ethnographic research. Through detailed empirical analysis and a fresh and informed analytical sensibility, Alice Wilson reopens an important, yet often all too narrow, discussion of what counts as democracy in Africa and other so-called developing regions and states."—Brenda Chalfin, University of Florida

"This deeply researched ethnography takes the case of Western Sahara and the fusing of a liberation movement (Polisario) and a partially recognized Sahrawi state to make a major contribution to the anthropology of the state. Looking particularly at transformations in the social relations of sovereignty, Wilson offers a fascinating account of control, compromises, and the sometimes uneasy coexistence of revolutionary politics and tribal affinities."—Ilana Feldman, George Washington University

"Sovereignty in Exile is a rich and intriguing ethnography that makes a significant contribution not only to refugee studies but also to the anthropology of sovereignty, state power, and tribal identities."—Dawn Chatty, University of Oxford