Language as Statecraft

'Global English' and the Politics of Language in Rwanda

Kate Spowage

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English

Routledge
28 November 2025

Language: history & general works; Sociolinguistics; Regional studies

Series: The Politics of Language

This book examines the rise of English in Rwanda, offering critical insights into the links between language, colonialism, and capitalism, with implications for our understanding of global English.

Spowage takes an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on political theory, cultural-materialism, and critical sociolinguistics. She positions language policy as an instrument for social reproduction and exploitation, but also a site of struggle and contest. Unravelling the complex history of language politics and policy in Rwanda, Spowage elaborates a theory of language as statecraft. This approach draws attention to the endurance of a colonial-capitalist link between language and social class, while illuminating the specific power of English in legitimising neoliberal political power and class hierarchies. On this basis, Spowage argues for a theoretical reimagining of the spread of English through the ‘global English nébuleuse’, a model which aims to capture the complex mechanisms that reinforce the dominance of English and to identify points where those mechanisms are fragile.

This innovative volume will be of interest to scholars in sociolinguistics, global Englishes, language and politics, and African studies.

By: Kate Spowage
Imprint: Routledge
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm,
Weight: 453g
ISBN: 9781032261522
ISBN 10: 1032261528
Series: The Politics of Language
Pages: 220
Publication Date: 28 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Contents Acknowledgements Introduction - Rwanda and the ‘Global English’ Debate Chapter One: Language and Statecraft Chapter Two: Language and Hegemony in ‘Francophone’ Rwanda Chapter Three: The RPF and the Struggle for ‘Anglophone’ Hegemony Chapter Four: English, Prosperity, and Statecraft in Neoliberal Rwanda Conclusions - In Theory: Hegemony and Resistance, Rwanda and the World References Index

Kate Spowage is Lecturer in English Language at the School of English at the University of Leeds, UK. Her research centres on the politics of language.

Reviews for Language as Statecraft: 'Global English' and the Politics of Language in Rwanda

""In this magisterial survey, Kate Spowage applies her deep intellect to the role of English in the material shaping of Africa and the African nation state. The selection of francophone Rwanda is especially apposite for the illustration it provides of state-sponsored English hegemonic dominance in Africa notwithstanding the continent’s supposed independence from European colonial rule. Language as Statecraft is that rare thing: a book which not only informs and educates, but one which also brings about paradigmatic change in the way such matters are discussed. A major achievement."" John P. O’Regan: Critical linguist; historical materialist; Professor at University College London, UK.