Infrastructural Attachments

“Emma Park demonstrates that the state in Kenya has been driven by both economic and political forces that continually cross the boundaries between private and public interests. At the same time, she argues that the infrastructures these entities cultivate have been deeply dependent on African knowledge workers whose expertise has rarely, if ever, been acknowledged or compensated by company and state officials. By linking infrastructure to the Kenyan state and to African knowledge workers, Park carves out new analytical insights while bringing African history into conversation with science and technology studies.” - Lynn M. Thomas, Giovanni and Amne Costigan Endowed Professor of History, University of Washington

“Emma Park’s insightful book not only expands the meaning of infrastructure but pushes the reader to rethink concepts that animate much scholarship today: neoliberalism, sovereignty, austerity, citizenship. She brings out the interrelations of corporate and state power alongside their limits and their reliance on the knowledge and creativity of Africans. Her book combines an astute and original theoretical perspective with excellent historical research.” - Frederick Cooper, coauthor of Post-Imperial Possibilities:  Eurasia, Eurafrica, Afroasia

"A well-researched, beautifully argued, and important book that deserves a wide readership." - Elizabeth W. Williams, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

"Infrastructural Attachments is ambitious and textured. . . . Essential reading for scholars of neoliberalism, infrastructure, labor, expertise, and colonial and postcolonial governance, and technology in Africa and far beyond." - Kristen Connor, African Studies Review

"[An] invaluable contribution . . . to infrastructure politics in Kenya and, by extension, Africa. Unreservedly, this a must-read influential work for students of politics and history, alike." - David Olusanjo, Journal of Global South Studies