Batman Saves the Congo

"This is an exciting, original, and fascinating book. It’s important not just for what it reveals—the Janus-faced, contradiction-laden nature of celebrity development politics—but for how this work was done. Batman Saves the Congo sets the standard for following high-profile development interventions from the privileged boardrooms where they are conceived to the coffee fields they seek to support. It’s a triumph."—Dan Brockington, author of Celebrity Advocacy and International Development

"This is a thoughtful and thought-provoking contribution to current debates on celebrity activism in the humanitarian sector. Using Ben Affleck’s intervention in the Congo, the book offers a razor-sharp analysis of the inner workings of celebrity strategic partnerships as a new entrepreneurial model of aid. More than this, it develops an important criticism of humanitarianism and its entanglement with corporate and entertainment logics that, despite good intentions, work to hide colonial legacies behind the glamour of celebrity stardom."—Lilie Chouliaraki, author of The Ironic Spectator: Solidarity in the Age of Post-Humanitarianism
 

"Thoroughly researched and often laugh-out-loud funny, Batman Saves the Congo is a critically important look at a growing and under-examined — and frequently absurd — segment of the aid industry. "—Washington Post

 

"This is a well-written, entertaining study that deserves a wide audience among readers interested in celebrity humanitarianism and the international politics of development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."—CHOICE

 

"The book Batman Saves the Congo is deeply researched, utilises a brilliant mix of methods of inquiry, and exposes a complex web of actors engaged in development efforts in the Congo."—Journal of Humanitarian Affairs