Exploring the context of service provision in Senegal: Social dynamics and decentralisation in the Senegalese countryside

IntroductionIn this paper, I will not be directly concerned with the everyday practices of public and collective services and those who make use of them. Instead, I aim to take a broader view on the social, political and cultural context in which services take shape and the role of decentralisation therein. In this regard, I will focus on some dynamics that are important for the functioning of public and collective services in Senegal today: dynamics of interaction between different elites st..

Fraught with friction:Inclusive development for informal workers in urban Ghana

Informal workers are a heterogeneous group distinguished by diverse activities and interests, but they have in common that they operate largely outside state regulations. In this article, we analyse the ways in which informal workers in Ghana are organising (themselves) in response to proposed relocations of their workspace. Borrowing from Tsing, we distinguish three layers of friction that can lead to (structural) change, collective action, and an increase in informal workers' political leverage. Our two case studies in Accra and Kumasi show how striving for inclusive development is a process shaped by diverse agendas and potentially conflicting interests. These relational and political aspects are crucial for understanding the frictions involved, as well as how these may lead to change. Where the tendency is to gloss over these frictions, we argue that they need to be the starting point for effective policies and initiatives for inclusive development

The New Visibility of Religion in the Development Arena

Introduction Contrary to the widespread tendency to relegate religion to the rank of reactionary forces, religious actors and ideas have always been vectors of social change and important in development initiatives in Africa – one only has to think of Catholic missions’ or Islamic elites’ engagement with education in colonial times (Cooper 2006; Brenner 2001). However, such engagements got increasingly unnoticed when modernization theories of development became dominant in the 1950s and 1960s..

The New Visibility of Religion in the Development Arena

Introduction Contrary to the widespread tendency to relegate religion to the rank of reactionary forces, religious actors and ideas have always been vectors of social change and important in development initiatives in Africa – one only has to think of Catholic missions’ or Islamic elites’ engagement with education in colonial times (Cooper 2006; Brenner 2001). However, such engagements got increasingly unnoticed when modernization theories of development became dominant in the 1950s and 1960s..

Nouvelles visibilités de la religion dans l’arène du développement

Introduction En dépit d’une vision couramment répandue qui relègue le religieux au rang des forces rétrogrades, en Afrique les idées et les acteurs religieux ont toujours constitué des vecteurs du changement social et ont été importants pour les initiatives de développement. L’engagement des missions catholiques ou des élites islamiques dans le domaine de l’éducation à l’époque coloniale en témoigne (Cooper 2006 ; Brenner 2001). Toutefois, à partir des années 1950-1960, alors que les théories..

Poverty is Bad: Ways forward in livelihood research

In this paper, we take the view that the essence of poverty is the fact that one or several basic conditions for generating a living are not being met. The conditions considered most vital for making a living are to a certain extent context specific and subject to (cultural and social) interpretation and evaluation

Transnational migrants, land and new investment hubs in African cities

Intensifi ed and competing claims over land are crucial to understanding current urban transformations in Africa. This paper aims to highlight the role of transnational migrants in urban land investments and claim making on urban land. While the relationship between urbanization in Africa and migration has long been a focus of research and policy, att ention had mainly focused on the intertwinement between rising urbanization and the infl ux of rural migrants, internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees struggling to survive and gain access to urban space and services. More recently, the African city has gained a more positive image as a consequence of Africa's economic boom and has come to be seen as a pillar of development, rather than a place of chaos and poverty. In this 'urban turn' in development thinking and concomitant technocratic and infrastructural policy approaches, the link between urbanization and migration has been largely overlooked. We argue, however, that transnational migrants in particular are an important category in claim-making processes over urban land and real estate and add to these in specifi c ways. Using case studies in Khartoum and Dakar, we investigate the ways in which transnational migrants contribute to speculation, rising land values and processes of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion. Rather than making a comparative analysis, we use two concrete cases to gain an empirical understanding of the processes associated with these diaspora investments, including the question of whether these transnational migrants can be considered as contributing to urban 'land grabs' or not

Transnational migrants, land and new investment hubs in African cities

Intensifi ed and competing claims over land are crucial to understanding current urban transformations in Africa. This paper aims to highlight the role of transnational migrants in urban land investments and claim making on urban land. While the relationship between urbanization in Africa and migration has long been a focus of research and policy, att ention had mainly focused on the intertwinement between rising urbanization and the infl ux of rural migrants, internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees struggling to survive and gain access to urban space and services. More recently, the African city has gained a more positive image as a consequence of Africa's economic boom and has come to be seen as a pillar of development, rather than a place of chaos and poverty. In this 'urban turn' in development thinking and concomitant technocratic and infrastructural policy approaches, the link between urbanization and migration has been largely overlooked. We argue, however, that transnational migrants in particular are an important category in claim-making processes over urban land and real estate and add to these in specifi c ways. Using case studies in Khartoum and Dakar, we investigate the ways in which transnational migrants contribute to speculation, rising land values and processes of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion. Rather than making a comparative analysis, we use two concrete cases to gain an empirical understanding of the processes associated with these diaspora investments, including the question of whether these transnational migrants can be considered as contributing to urban 'land grabs' or not

Transnational migrants, land and new investment hubs in African cities

Intensifi ed and competing claims over land are crucial to understanding current urban transformations in Africa. This paper aims to highlight the role of transnational migrants in urban land investments and claim making on urban land. While the relationship between urbanization in Africa and migration has long been a focus of research and policy, att ention had mainly focused on the intertwinement between rising urbanization and the infl ux of rural migrants, internally displaced people (IDPs) and refugees struggling to survive and gain access to urban space and services. More recently, the African city has gained a more positive image as a consequence of Africa's economic boom and has come to be seen as a pillar of development, rather than a place of chaos and poverty. In this 'urban turn' in development thinking and concomitant technocratic and infrastructural policy approaches, the link between urbanization and migration has been largely overlooked. We argue, however, that transnational migrants in particular are an important category in claim-making processes over urban land and real estate and add to these in specifi c ways. Using case studies in Khartoum and Dakar, we investigate the ways in which transnational migrants contribute to speculation, rising land values and processes of socio-spatial inclusion and exclusion. Rather than making a comparative analysis, we use two concrete cases to gain an empirical understanding of the processes associated with these diaspora investments, including the question of whether these transnational migrants can be considered as contributing to urban 'land grabs' or not