Synopses & Reviews
This innovative book examines the relationship between African "civil society" and "home association" networks in the diaspora. Remittances home via these networks outweigh official development assistance. Looking in particular at Cameroon and Tanzania, the authors argue that building "civil society" in Africa must be understood in tandem with the political economy of migration and wider debates concerning ethnicity and belonging. They demonstrate both that diasporic development is distinct from mainstream development, and that it is an uneven historical process in which some '"homes" are better placed to take advantage of global connections than others. In doing so, the book engages critically with the current enthusiasm among policy-makers for treating the African diaspora as an untapped resource for combating poverty.
Synopsis
There has been much recent celebration of the success of African 'civil society' in forging global connections through an ever-growing diaspora. Against the background of such celebrations, this innovative book sheds light on the diasporic networks - 'home associations' - whose economic contributions are being used to develop home. Despite these networks being part of the flow of migrants' resources back to Africa that now outweighs official development assistance, the relationship between the flow of capital and social and political change are still poorly understood.
Looking in particular at Cameroon and Tanzania, the authors examine the networks of migrants that have been created by making 'home associations' international. They argue that claims in favour of enlarging 'civil society' in Africa must be placed in the broader context of the political economy of migration and wider debates concerning ethnicity and belonging. They demonstrate both that diasporic development is distinct from mainstream development, and that it is an uneven historical process in which some 'homes' are better placed to take advantage of global connections than others.
In doing so, the book engages critically with the current enthusiasm among policy-makers for treating the African diaspora as an untapped resource for combating poverty. Its focus on diasporic networks, rather than private remittances, reveals the particular successes and challenges diasporas face in acting as a group, not least in mobilising members of the diaspora to fulfill obligations to home.
About the Author
Claire Mercer is a Lecturer in Geography at the University of Leicester, UK. Ben Page is a lecturer at University College London. Martin Evans has undertaken consultancy and advisory work for the Department for International Development, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Overseas Development Institute, Center for International Climate and Environmental Research-Oslo and Chatham House.
Table of Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
Currencies
List of Acronyms
Preface
Acknowledgements
Part I: Why home associations matter
Chapter 1 - Home associations: between political belonging and moral conviviality
Chapter 2 - Contexts and comparisons
Chapter 3 - Rethinking research on African diasporas and development
Part II - The history and structure of home associations
Chapter 4 - Home associations and the nation in Cameroon
Chapter 5 - Home associations and the nation in Tanzania
Part III - The developmental and political work of African home associations
Chapter 6 - Welfare and social support in the diaspora
Chapter 7 - Modernizing burial and death celebrations
Chapter 8 - Education and inequality
Chapter 9 - Infrastructure and accountability
Part IV: Home associations, migration and development
Chapter 10 - Conclusions