The Rise of Africa's Middle Class : Myths, Realities and Critical Engagements / edited by Henning Melber.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Melber, Henning, editor.

Series:

Africa now (Zed Books)

Africa now

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Middle class--Africa.

Middle class.

Africa.

Physical Description:

ix, 219 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet ; London : Zed Books, 2016.

Summary:

Across Africa, a burgeoning middle class has become the poster child for the 'Africa rising' narrative. Ambitious, aspirational and increasingly affluent, this group is said to embody the values and hopes of the new Africa, with inter national bodies ranging from the United Nations Development Programme to the World Bank regarding them as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. This narrative, however, obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies. Bringing together economists, political scientists, anthropologists and development experts, and spanning a variety of case studies from across the continent, this collection provides a much-needed corrective to the received wisdom within development circles, and provides a fresh perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 African middle classes: lessons from transnational studies and a research agenda / Carola Lentz Lentz, Carola 17

2 Human development and the construction of middle classes in the Global South / Tim Stofeel Stofeel, Tim 54

3 Africa's middle class, Africa's entrepreneurs and the missing middle / Oluyele Akinkugbe Akinkugbe, Oluyele, Karl Wohlmuth Wohlmuth, Karl 69

4 Deconstructing the myth of the African middle class / Sirkku K. Hellsten Hellsten, Sirkku K. 95

5 Kenya - an unconscious middle class? Between region al-ethnic political mobilization and middle class lifestyles / Dieter Neubert Neubert, Dieter 110

6 Middle class activism in Nigeria: from nationalist struggle to social media campaign / Nkwachukwu Orji Orji, Nkwachukwu 129

7 Emerging middle class political subjectivities in post-war Angola / Jon Schubert Schubert, Jon 147

8 The middle class of Mozambique and the politics of the blank slate / Jason Sumich Sumich, Jason 159

9 South Africa's black middle class professionals / Amuzweni L. Ngoma Ngoma, Amuzweni L. 170

10 The middle class of Dar es Salaam and Kiswahili video-films / Vicensia Shule Shule, Vicensia 190.

ISBN:

9781783607136

1783607130

9781783607143

1783607149

OCLC:

967813207