ABSTRACT

This essay investigates the hazards of comparing Trump and Zuma, invoking “hazard” in its negative as well as potentially positive senses. Focusing on the recurrent association of Trump with (often former) strongmen of the erstwhile Third World – as in the Daily Show’s 2015 segment, “Donald Trump: America’s First African President” – I posit that the critical value of such characterizations is undercut by the assumptions they reveal about Africa and the Global South. But I do not entirely discard the critical utility of comparing Trump and Zuma. I argue instead for a comparison rooted in an understanding of “resonance” (as loose or fleeting similarity), which allows for significant difference, including the very different positions these two actors occupy in the global hierarchy of power. Ultimately, Trump and Zuma are best understood as heuristics for the other: figures of thought or learning aids that help in working through a particular problem.

摘要

本文研究了比较特朗普和祖玛的危害，从负面和潜在的积极意义上援引“危害”。着眼于特朗普与以前的第三世界（通常是前任）的强人的经常性交往，就像在《每日秀》（Daily Show）2015年版中所说的“唐纳德·特朗普：美国的第一任非洲总统”一样，我认为这种刻画的关键价值被削弱了。他们揭示关于非洲和全球南方的假设。但是我没有完全放弃比较特朗普和祖玛的关键作用。相反，我主张进行一个基于对“共鸣”（松散或短暂的相似性）的理解而进行的比较，这允许产生重大差异，包括这两个参与者在全球权力等级中所处的位置非常不同。最终，