The perils of belonging : autochthony, citizenship, and exclusion in Africa and Europe / Peter Geschiere.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Geschiere, Peter.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Group identity--Cameroon.

Group identity.

Group identity--Netherlands.

Ethnicity--Cameroon.

Ethnicity.

Ethnicity--Netherlands.

Cosmopolitanism--Cameroon.

Cosmopolitanism.

Cosmopolitanism--Netherlands.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (297 p.)

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Despite being told that we now live in a cosmopolitan world, more and more people have begun to assert their identities in ways that are deeply rooted in the local. These claims of autochthony-meaning "born from the soil"-seek to establish an irrefutable, primordial right to belong and are often employed in politically charged attempts to exclude outsiders. In The Perils of Belonging, Peter Geschiere traces the concept of autochthony back to the classical period and incisively explores the idea in two very different contexts: Cameroon and the Netherlands. In both countries, the momentous economic and political changes following the end of the cold war fostered anxiety over migration. For Cameroonians, the question of who belongs where rises to the fore in political struggles between different tribes, while the Dutch invoke autochthony in fierce debates over the integration of immigrants. This fascinating comparative perspective allows Geschiere to examine the emotional appeal of autochthony-as well as its dubious historical basis-and to shed light on a range of important issues, such as multiculturalism, national citizenship, and migration.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments

Chapter 1. Introduction: Autochthony-the Flip Side

Chapter 2. Cameroon: Autochthony, Democratization, and New Struggles over Citizenship

Chapter 3. Cameroon: Decentralization and Belonging

Chapter 4. African Trajectories

Chapter 5. Autochthony in Europe: The Dutch Turn

Chapter 6. Cameroon: Nation-Building and Autochthony as Processes of Subjectivation

Chapter 7. Epilogue: Can the Land Lie? Autochthony's Uncertainties in Africa and Europe

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9786612239588

9781282239586

1282239589

9780226289663

0226289664

OCLC:

456376389