Bøger af David van Reybrouck

En milepæl i den politiske og historiske reportage. Die Welt Forfatteren begynder sin levende beretning i 1850 erne og giver et uafrysteligt indblik i slavehandelen og gummiproduktionen i slutningen af 1800-tallet det belgiske koloniherredømme kampen for selvstændighed og Mobutus brutale diktatur og i årsagerne til de krige som har hærget landet fra 1996 til i dag de grusomste konflikter siden Anden Verdenskrig. David van Reybrouck er belgisk kulturhistoriker arkæolog og prisbelønnet forfatter. Congo Historien om Afrikas hjerte bygger på et unikt kildemateriale og på hans mange rejser i Centralafrika. De mange hundrede interviews han har lavet i Kinshasas slum og i bittesmå landsbyer såvel som blandt udvandrede afrikanere i Europa og Kina kaster nyt lys over en rig og uhyre kompleks historie. Pressen skrev: Beskriver på forbilledlig vis Congos seneste ca. 150 års historie & et standardværk Jyllands-Posten (seks stjerner) Har man lyst til at blive klogere på Congo kan jeg ikke forestille mig et bedre udgangspunkt end David van Reybroucks monumentale portrætbog Congo Politiken (seks hjerter) Bogen er spækket med detaljer nerve kant vid og ynde. Det er Congo uden filter. Weekendavisen Læs bogen! Og du bliver ikke bare klogere på Congo men på Afrika og hvis man læser særligt intenst godt bliver du også klogere på Europa. Velkomponeret velfortalt er den et væld af indsigt. - Information

Democracy is in bad health. This book offers a new diagnosis - and an ancient remedy. It shows that the original purpose of elections was to exclude the people from power by appointing an elite to govern over them. Based on studies and trials from around the globe, it presents the practical case for a true democracy - one that actually works.

**Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2024**A story of staggering scope and drama, Revolusi is the masterful and definitive account of the epic revolution that sparked the decolonisation of the modern world.'Astounding . . . history at its best' Yuval Noah Harari'Utterly compelling . . . masterful' Financial Times'Superb' GuardianOn a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of tired people raised a homemade cotton flag and on behalf of 68 million compatriots announced the birth of a new nation: Indonesia.Four million civilians had died during the Japanese wartime occupation that ousted its Dutch colonial regime. Another 200,000 people would lose their lives in the astonishingly brutal conflict that ensued - as the Dutch used savage violence to reassert their control, and as Britain and America became embroiled in pacifying Indonesia's guerrilla war of resistance: the 'Revolusi'. It was not until December 1949 that the newly created United Nations finally brought the conflict an end - and with it, 350 years of colonial rule - setting a precedent that would reshape the world.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eye-witness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative that is alive with human detail at every turn. A landmark publication, Revolusi shows Indonesia's struggle for independence to be one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century.'A magnificent fusion of oral history, sparkling analysis, and historical wisdom. Revolusi has it all: a masterpiece' Sebastain Mallaby'A magisterial and gripping account of events of urgent importance to us now' Jason Burke'A wonderful book' Peter Frankopan'Masterly' J M Coetzee**Shortlisted for the Cundill Prize**

Epic yet eminently readable, penetrating and profoundly moving, 'Congo' traces the fate of one of the world's most devastated countries, second only to war-torn Somalia: the Democratic Republic of Congo.With a span of several hundred years and an enormous cast of characters, 'Congo' chronicles the most dramatic episodes of the nation's history, the people and events that have determined Congo's development - from the slave trade to the ivory and rubber booms; from the arrival of Henry Morton Stanley and his meeting with Dr Livingstone to the brutal regime of Belgium's King Leopold II; from the struggle for independence to Mobutu's exploitative rule; and from Muhammad Ali and George Foreman's world famous 'Rumble in the Jungle' to the civil war over natural resources that began in 1996 and still rages today.David Van Reybrouck interweaves his own family's history with the voices of a diverse range of individuals - charismatic dictators, feuding warlords, child-soldiers, elderly, female smugglers, and many in the African diaspora of Europe and China - to offer a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective in an attempt to return a nation's history to its people.

On a sunny Friday morning in August 1945, a handful of people raised a homemade cotton flag and, on behalf of 68 million compatriots, announced the birth of a new nation. With the fourth largest population in the world, inhabiting islands that span an eighth of the globe, Indonesia became the first country to rid itself of colonial rule after World War II.In this vivid history, renowned scholar and celebrated author of Congo David Van Reybrouck captures a period of extraordinary tumult and chaos to tell the story of Indonesia's momentous revolution, known as the "Revolusi." Encompassing several hundred years of history, he details the formation of the Dutch East Indies, the Japanese invasion that followed, and the young rebels who engaged in armed resistance once the occupation ended. British and Dutch troops were sent to restore order and keep peace, but instead ignited the first modern war of decolonization. America, too, became embroiled with the Indonesians' fierce struggle for freedom. That struggle inspired independence movements in Asia, Africa, and the Arab world, especially in the wake of Indonesia's monumental 1955 Bandung Conference, the first global conference without the West. The whole world had become involved in Revolusi, and the whole world was changed by it.Drawing on hundreds of interviews and eyewitness testimonies, David Van Reybrouck turns this vast and complex story into an utterly gripping narrative, written with remarkable historical clarity and filled with tragedy and passion. A landmark history, Revolusi cements Indonesia's struggle for independence as one of the defining dramas of the twentieth century and entirely reframes our understanding of post-colonialism.

From the beginnings of the slave trade through colonization, the struggle for independence, Mobutu's brutal three decades of rule, and the civil war that has raged from 1996 to the present day, Congo: The Epic History of a People traces the history of one of the most devastated nations in the world. Esteemed scholar David Van Reybrouck balances hundreds of interviews with a diverse range of Congolese with meticulous historical research to construct a multidimensional portrait of a nation and its people.Epic in scope yet eminently readable, both penetrating and deeply moving, Congo--a finalist for the Cundill Prize--takes a deeply humane approach to political history, focusing squarely on the Congolese perspective, and returns a nation's history to its people.

A small book with great weight and urgency to it, this is both a history of democracy and a clarion call for change."e;Without drastic adjustment, this system cannot last much longer,"e; writes Van Reybrouck, regarded today as one of Europe's most astute thinkers. "e;If you look at the decline in voter turnout and party membership, and at the way politicians are held in contempt, if you look at how difficult it is to form governments, how little they can do and how harshly they are punished for it, if you look at how quickly populism, technocracy and anti-parliamentarianism are rising, if you look at how more and more citizens are longing for participation and how quickly that desire can tip over into frustration, then you realize we are up to our necks."e; Not so very long ago, the great battles of democracy were fought for the right to vote. Now, Van Reybrouck writes, "e;it's all about the right to speak, but in essence it's the same battle, the battle for political emancipation and for democratic participation. We must decolonize democracy. We must democratize democracy."e; As history, Van Reybrouck makes the compelling argument that modern democracy was designed as much to preserve the rights of the powerful and keep the masses in line, as to give the populace a voice. As change-agent, Against Elections makes the argument that there are forms of government, what he terms sortitive or deliberative democracy, that are beginning to be practiced around the world, and can be the remedy we seek. In Iceland, for example, deliberative democracy was used to write the new constitution. A group of people were chosen by lot, educated in the subject at hand, and then were able to decide what was best, arguably, far better than politicians would have. A fascinating, and workable idea has led to a timely book to remind us that our system of government is a flexible instrument, one that the people have the power to change.

Vi befinder os i et valgår i Danmark. For mange er valg synonymt med demokrati. Men vores holdning til demokratiet er ambivalent. Alle synes at ønske det men kun få tror for alvor på det længere.I denne bog søger David Van Reybrouck frem mod nye måder at revitalisere vores demokratier på ved at trække os mere aktivt ind i alt hvad der angår os som samfundsborgere.Imod valg er et forsvarsskrift for demokratiet. Den er samtidig en insisterende opfordring til at foretage grundlæggende forandringer i den måde vi organiserer styringen af vores samfund på. Vores vestlige demokratier synes at være angrebet af en svækkelse som for det meste er karakteriseret ved én fremherskende følelse: mistillid. Borgerne nærer mistillid til politikerne men politikerne nærer også mistillid til borgerne. Det synes faktisk at dreje sig om gensidig mistillid.Skønt et stigende antal borgere er vrede på politikere partier og parlamenter er de næsten aldrig vrede på valgene. De foragter de valgte men dyrker valgene. Men hvad nu hvis valg er en del af problemet? Hvad hvis valg som en demokratisk procedure med henblik på at lade folk tale er blevet forældede? Hvad hvis valg ikke længere er synonymt med demokrati? Når det kommer til stykket har vi eksperimenteret med demokrati i næsten 3.000 år men kun i 200 år med valg. David van Reybrouck (f. 1971) er belgisk kulturhistoriker arkæolog og prisbelønnet forfatter. På dansk udkom i 2012 hans store prisbelønnede og internationale bestseller Congo Historien om Afrikas hjerte. En milepæl i den politiske og historiske reportage som overalt blev modtaget med begejstring.

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