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Climate of Fear: The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

wole soyinka

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In this new book developed from the prestigious Reith Lectures, Nobel Prize—winning author Wole Soyinka, a courageous advocate for human rights around the world, considers fear as the dominant theme in world politics.

Decades ago, the idea of collective fear had a tangible the atom bomb. Today our shared anxiety has become far more complex and insidious, arising from tyranny, terrorism, and the invisible power of the “quasi state.” As Wole Soyinka suggests, the climate of fear that has enveloped the world was sparked long before September 11, 2001.

Rather, it can be traced to 1989, when a passenger plane was brought down by terrorists over the Republic of Niger. From Niger to lower Manhattan to Madrid, this invisible threat has erased distinctions between citizens and soldiers; we’re all potential targets now.

In this seminal work, Soyinka explores the implications of this climate of the conflict between power and freedom, the motives behind unthinkable acts of violence, and the meaning of human dignity. Fascinating and disturbing, Climate of Fear is a brilliant and defining work for our age.

145 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,2005

This edition

Format
145 pages, Paperback
Published
January 25, 2005 by Random House Publishing Group
ISBN
9780812974249
ASIN
0812974247
Language
English

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About the author

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wole soyinka

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Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka, known as Wole Soyinka, is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature for his "wide cultural perspective and... poetic overtones fashioning the drama of existence", the first sub-Saharan African to be honoured in that category.
Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. In 1954, he attended Government College in Ibadan, and subsequently University College Ibadan and the University of Leeds in England. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its campaign for independence from British colonial rule. In 1965, he seized the Western Nigeria Broadcasting Service studio and broadcast a demand for the cancellation of the Western Nigeria Regional Elections. In 1967, during the Nigerian Civil War, he was arrested by the federal government of General Yakubu Gowon and put in solitary confinement for two years, for volunteering to be a non-government mediating actor.
Soyinka has been a strong critic of successive Nigerian (and African at large) governments, especially the country's many military dictators, as well as other political tyrannies, including the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe. Much of his writing has been concerned with "the oppressive boot and the irrelevance of the colour of the foot that wears it". During the regime of General Sani Abacha (1993–98), Soyinka escaped from Nigeria on a motorcycle via the "NADECO Route". Abacha later proclaimed a death sentence against him "in absentia". With civilian rule restored to Nigeria in 1999, Soyinka returned to his nation.
In Nigeria, Soyinka was a Professor of Comparative literature (1975 to 1999) at the Obafemi Awolowo University, then called the University of Ifẹ̀. With civilian rule restored to Nigeria in 1999, he was made professor emeritus. While in the United States, he first taught at Cornell University as Goldwin Smith professor for African Studies and Theatre Arts from 1988 to 1991 and then at Emory University, where in 1996 he was appointed Robert W. Woodruff Professor of the Arts. Soyinka has been a Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has served as scholar-in-residence at New York University's Institute of African American Affairs and at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. He has also taught at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard and Yale, and was also a Distinguished Scholar in Residence at Duke University in 2008.
In December 2017, Soyinka was awarded the Europe Theatre Prize in the "Special Prize" category, awarded to someone who has "contributed to the realization of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples".

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Rating(4 / 5.0, 21 votes)
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21 reviews All reviews
Profile Image for Kimberly .
02_RK
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Me gustó, no había leído nada de Soyinka. En realidad no tenía la menor idea de quien era. Pero conocerlo a través de esos 5 ensayos me permitió conocer todo un mundo que no conocía de los dictadores de África y Oriente Medio. Definitivamente debemos siempre perseguir la búsqueda de nuestra dignidad individual y posteriormente como especie humana.

Me quedo con esta frase:
"La búsqueda de la dignidad es uno de los atributos más fundamentales de la existencia humana"
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kappermix
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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An awesome series of lectures discussing the dynamic of power and freedom, and the meaning of human dignity. Invaluable insight into the political landscape of our world. Highly recommended.
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lone_wolf_club
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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As the title suggests, the five essays focus on the climate of fear developing in the world. The first essay is about the biggest landmark event in this regard, the attack on WTC, (which made USA realise that terrorism it had been encouraging in Asia and Africa is a bad thing). Soyinka points out that people of East were used to that kind of thing. (Kind of talks to my own experience. The amount of terror people feel is in direct relation to wealth and nationality of people who are attacked - if white people are terrorised the whole world is scared. In India, you must attack a luxuruious Taj hotel, something only rich to get media attention. Attacks on poorer, third world country people is not something media would pay attention to. Even natural calamities follow this rule - the thousands dying in famines in Africa is an everyday.)

The second essay focuses on the inverse relationship between power and freedom. In society, one's power is always at expense of other's freedom. The examples he gives are from Africa. Of a country where a government was elected after it promised to overthrow democracy.
n  
"We shall ascend to power on the democratic ladder—declared the evidently popular Islamist party—after which we shall pull up the ladder, and there shall be no more democracy."

"if you believe in democracy, are you not thereby obliged to accept, without discrimination, the fallout that comes with a democratic choice, even if this means the termination of the democratic process itself?"
n

The thing about democracy is not so much about elected governments but about balances and checks which keeps anyone from gaining too much power in government and thus costing people their freedoms. (That is what you tell someone who says that a country needs a strong leader who doesn't have to fear anyone.)

The third essay talks about hysteria which is one of consequences of this fear. The US response to WTC attacks is again an example. Politics is one way in which the hysteria is created. The other thing is religion. Politics will have you believe that you are better because you belong to particular nation. Religious fanaticism will have you believe that you are better than people of other religion.

The fourth essay is probably the best one. It is about concept of 'dignity'. When you have to live in climate of fear enveloping world which makes vulnerable souls lose your dignity. There is of course fear from natural calamities but that fear doesn't cost you your dignity. It is only when you are afraid for your life of other people - from religious fanatics, politicians or terrorists, that you lose dignity. It is like Job's tragedy - if he didn't believe in God, he might have suffered in silence, but Job's tragedy caused by a God, a being of intelligence, which meant that it was combined with loss of dignity for him.
n  

"...assault on human dignity is one of the prime goals of the visitation of fear, a prelude to the domination of the mind and the triumph of power"
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The last of five essays is about the freedom of speech and how it is hampered by the religion and politics. I don't agree with Soyinka's support for ban of all religious symbols in schools and you probably already know about threats faced by writers and artists. The only bit that can be interesting in the essay is culture of tolerance in Africa and her religions, but that is something g discussed in better detail in Soyinka's other essay collection 'Of Africa'.

One more quote
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"Once righteousness replaces rights in the exercise of power, the way is paved for a permanent contest based on the primacy of the holier-than-thou."n
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bharangi
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Soyinka is a supreme moralist, though the lecture format makes these essays somewhat meandering and unfocused at times. However, these are potent secular sermons, especially the final two, and should not be read in one sitting.
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Fguyretftgu7
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Reminiscent of Tariq Ali's writing; it is certainly more poetry than politics. Soyinka certainly knows how to turn his phrase, but reading this book makes the reader wonder what his point is beyond imperialism is bad and so are fear and xenophobia.
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Theeben
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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It is quite a nice read, although Soyinka as usual, made too much use of bogous/pompous words.
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miyukipapa
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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Nobel author delves into why the world must refocus our attention on establishing human dignity and freedom of expression as the core of human community life for the individual and state. Assigned reading in one of my courses.
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Veteris
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
April 16,2025
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A powerful collection of lectures by Wole Soyinka. He talks about fanaticism, intolerance and the need for dignity in this very troubled world. It should be required reading for everyone, especially those in power.
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