Acknowledgements

This is a text with unreliable narrators. But not yet.

The form and substance of this text moves between times, places, and roles. Its process of production did, too. So I owe a debt of gratitude to those who welcomed me as I roamed. At SOAS, Amanda, Cathy, and Scott. At Manchester, Dennis and Sam. At the Bingham Center, Sir Jeffrey and Naina. At various stops, Alvaro, Geoff, Rene, and Stephen. In Vienna, and at the boundaries of stylistic dissonance, Mareike. In Cambridge, on matters of belief, Amelia and Tyler. On enthusiasm, encouragement, and clarity, Chris B, Moya, Rebecca M, Fleur, Chris M, Lucie, Janet, and Duncan. On fellowship, Palma, Afroditi, Xiaoqian, and Joanna. On the poetry and prose of being a friend, Alejandra.

To those who stopped me in my tracks, I am thankful for my good fortune. At IGLP, cheers to Kristen, Lawrence, Helena, Sundhya, and Marlese. And to the sturm und drang of my fellow fellows, Adil and Chris G. At the Democracy Centre at the Graduate Institute, this book and much else besides would not have been possible had Christine and Thanh not provided me with a home, nourishment, and space to grow. At Edinburgh Law School, Ana María, Chloe, David C, Dimitri, FF, Gavin, James, Kasey, Martin DK, Michael, Michelle, Nehal, Neil, Niamh, Sapna, and Steve offered inspiration and example.

To the Teds, Gregs, and Jackies who have conversed with me over the years, with whom this book continues to converse, I am grateful: Klaus, Varun, Vivek, Doug, Mike, Raj, Shelley, Aparna, Jared, Nat, and Pilar. And to Caroline, Nick, Debbie, Felix, and Todd, your smarts produced deep anxieties that hover over my arguments in this book, and that provided the impetus for me to roam.

To those who took the time to engage, comment, critique, and guide me along the way, thank you. Aliki, Amy, Anna, Annabelle, Fuad, Gregoire, Jean, Mariana, Martin K, Nico, Philipp, Ron, Sara, Todd, participants at conferences and workshops where bits of these ideas were assayed, and many, many more. Peer, for encouragement and discipline. Tom and the editorial team at Cambridge University Press, as well as Taylor, for their rigour and support. And I gratefully acknowledge support from the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy at the Graduate Institute, Geneva; the Swiss National Science Foundation Sinergia grant ‘Reversing the Gaze: Towards Post-Comparative Area Studies’ (project number CRSII5_193795); and the Economic and Social Research Council and the Centre for Public Authority and International Development (CPAID, project reference number ES/P008038/1).

I had the good fortune to be surrounded by many who inspired me as I drew my early maps, and taught me to think through and around the terrain. Jeannie, who showed me to show, rather than tell. Shalini, who showed me to do, rather than tell. Robert, who showed me to act, rather than tell. Alan, who showed me to think, rather than tell. Andrew, who showed me to reflect, rather than tell. Kim, who showed me to be generous, rather than tell. Michael, whose relentless commitment to partnership – at barbecues and on the page – showed me how these things might be done. And David, whose intellectual generosity taught me why they would be worth doing.

And, as the movement stops,