Prologue : the past in the present
Setting and approach. Interpreting the region ; The shadows of antiquity
Violence and imperialism : the 'long' nineteenth century. States of violence, to c. 1870 ; Borderlands, militarism, and the making of empire
Colonialisms, old and new. Demarcating identity : the European colonial experience, c. 1890-c. 1950 ; The empire of Haile Selassie, c. 1900-74
Revolutions, liberations, and the ghosts of the mesafint. Revolution, 'liberation', and militant identity, 1974-91 ; New states, old wars : violence, frontier, and destiny in the modern era
Epilogue : armed frontiers and militarized margins.