Book contents
- Anticolonialism and Social Thought
- LSE International Studies
- Anticolonialism and Social Thought
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Activists, Intellectuals, and Movements
- Part II Schools of Thought
- Part III Dissident Sociologists
- 9 Firing Back Imperialism
- 10 A. R. Desai’s Marxist Critique of Nationalism and of the Indian Nation-State
- 11 The Environmental Sociology of Radhakamal Mukerjee
- Part IV On Method
- Index
- References
9 - Firing Back Imperialism
The Anticolonial Sociology of Abdelmalek Sayad
from Part III - Dissident Sociologists
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 September 2025
By
Book contents
- Anticolonialism and Social Thought
- LSE International Studies
- Anticolonialism and Social Thought
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Activists, Intellectuals, and Movements
- Part II Schools of Thought
- Part III Dissident Sociologists
- 9 Firing Back Imperialism
- 10 A. R. Desai’s Marxist Critique of Nationalism and of the Indian Nation-State
- 11 The Environmental Sociology of Radhakamal Mukerjee
- Part IV On Method
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter focuses on the emancipatory sociology developed by the Algerian scholar Abdelmalek Sayad (1933–1998). Sayad’s pathbreaking theory on immigration is progressively acknowledged today. However, we know less about the anticolonial roots of his innovative approach. From the Algerian liberation war against the French Empire to neoliberalism, Sayad’s social thought led to an anticolonial theory of domination and resistance. The chapter shows how Sayad dealt with political concerns scientifically and how his anticolonial engagements challenged conventional ways of doing science. It traces four components of his anticolonial thought: the understanding of the logics of empire; the paths toward decolonization; the epistemic grounds for a social revolution within postcolonial regimes; and the mechanisms that reconfigure the colonized condition into the immigrant experience. Discussing these aspects of Sayad’s social thought against the imperial episteme in the academic and political fields, this chapter proposes to restore the grounds of an anticolonial sociology.
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- Anticolonialism and Social Thought , pp. 211 - 233Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025
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