This volume explores the constitutive role of rhetoric in socio-cultural relations, where discursive persuasion is so important, and contains both theoretical chapters as well as fascinating examples of the ambiguities and effects of rhetoric used (un)consciously in social praxis. The elements of power, competition and political persuasion figure prominently. It is an accessible collection of studies, speaking to common issues and problems in social life, and shows the heuristic and often explanatory value of the rhetorical perspective.

Jon Abbink is a research professor of Politics and Governance in Africa (Political Anthropology) at the African Studies Centre, Leiden University. Recent publications include The Anthropology of Elites (co-edited, Palgrave, 2012), Reconfiguring Ethiopia (co-edited, Routledge, 2013), a co-authored monograph, Suri Orature, on the Suri people (Köppe Verlag, 2014), and the edited volume The Environmental Crunch in Africa (Palgrave, 2018).

Shauna LaTosky teaches cultural anthropology at Thompson Rivers University. She published The Predicaments of Mursi (Mun) Women in Ethiopia’s Changing World (Köppe Verlag, 2013), and co-edited Writing in the Field (Lit Verlag, 2013).

“It is a quite fascinating, accomplished, and innovative volume … The co-editors and contributors have put together a rich, multiperspectival, and often compelling exploration of the complex and consequential nexus of social relations and rhetoric.” • Don Brenneis, University of California, Santa Cruz