John Gledhill is Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester. He is the managing editor of the journal Critique of Anthropology , and his other publications include Casi Nada: A Study of Land reform in the Homeland of Cardenismo and Neoliberalism, Transnationalization and Rural Poverty.

'Gledhill manages to cover a lot of ground in drawing out the thematic and theoretical focuses of political anthropology, brilliantly giving them life through a wide variety of empirical examples. ... The book will serve as a very good introduction to political anthropology for any student of power and politics.' Journal of Peace Research
In this fully updated edition of Power and Its Disguises, John Gledhill explores both the complexities of local situations and the power relations that shape the global order. He shows how historically informed anthropological perspectives can contribute to debates about democratisation by incorporating a 'view from below' and revealing forces that shape power relations behind the formal facade of state institutions. Examples are drawn from Brazil, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Peru, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Sri Lanka, amongst others.