This book explores the relationship between plantation labour and gender in Africa, particularly Cameroon. It demonstrates that the introduction of plantation labour during colonial rule has had... Show moreThis book explores the relationship between plantation labour and gender in Africa, particularly Cameroon. It demonstrates that the introduction of plantation labour during colonial rule has had significant consequences for gender roles and relations within and beyond the capitalist labour process. These effects have been quite ambivalent, being marked by both profound changes and remarkable continuities. The book focuses on two tea estates established in anglophone Cameroon in the 1950s, the Tole Estate and the Ndu Estate, the first employing mainly female pluckers, the second mainly male pluckers. This allows for an examination of the variations in male and female workers' modes of resistance to the control and exploitation they meet in the labour process. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Neoliberalism has become the dominant development agenda in Africa, but neoliberal experiments have displayed a remarkable diversity in different countries. This book focuses on Cameroon, where... Show moreNeoliberalism has become the dominant development agenda in Africa, but neoliberal experiments have displayed a remarkable diversity in different countries. This book focuses on Cameroon, where the neoliberal project has been influenced by the nation's complex economic and political history. Currently, the country is witnessing resistance to the neoliberal experiment by the authoritarian and neopatrimonial elite, as well as various civil society groups. The book examines elite opposition to the neoliberal reforms imposed by the Bretton Woods institutions and Western donors, the role of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), the effects of two key policy prescriptions of the neoliberal agenda, namely privatization and global open markets, political liberalization and the secessionist movement in Anglophone Cameroon, the link between privatization, good governance and ethnoregional conflict, the border dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria, China-Cameroon relations in the era of neoliberal globalization, political liberalization and the 1990-1996 student revolt, innovative activities of the youth in Douala to cope with the economic crisis, trade unionism and globalization, and changes in the position of workers on the Ndu Tea Estate during the economic crisis and liberalization. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This book discusses the consequences of the economic and financial crisis that befell the Cameroonian agro-industrial sector in the 1980s, using as a case study the plantation economy of the... Show moreThis book discusses the consequences of the economic and financial crisis that befell the Cameroonian agro-industrial sector in the 1980s, using as a case study the plantation economy of the anglophone region of Cameroon. Two agro-industrial enterprises have dominated the plantation sector: a huge parastatal enterprise, the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), and a private company, Plantations Pamol du Cameroun Ltd, a subsidiary of Unilever. The crisis of the 1980s brought both companies to the verge of collapse and led to a number of neoliberal economic reforms, including the withdrawal of State intervention and the restructuring, liquidation and privatization of the agro-industrial enterprises. These reforms in turn had severe consequences for several civil society groups that had a direct stake in the plantation economy, notably the regional elite, chiefs, plantation workers and their unions, and contract farmers. The study shows that these groups have never resigned themselves to their fate but have been actively involved in a variety of formal and informal methods of resistance. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Civil society and empowerment have become buzz words in neoliberal development discourse. Yet many unanswered questions remain on the actual nature and configuration assumed by civil society in... Show moreCivil society and empowerment have become buzz words in neoliberal development discourse. Yet many unanswered questions remain on the actual nature and configuration assumed by civil society in specific contexts. Typically, while neoliberals perceive civil-society organisations as vital intermediary channels for the successful implementation of desired economic and political reforms, they are inclined to blame the current resurgence of the politics of belonging for the poor record of these reforms in Africa and elsewhere. This book rejects such notions and argues that the relationship between civil society and the politics of belonging is more complex in Africa than western donors and scholars are willing to admit. Konings argues that ethno-regional associations and movements are even more significant constituents of civil society in Africa than the conventional civil-society organisations that are often uncritically imposed or endorsed. He convincingly shows how the politics of belonging, so pervasive in Cameroon, and indeed much of Africa, during the current neoliberal economic and political reforms, has tended to penetrate the entire range of associational life. This calls for a critical re-appraisal of prevalent notions and assumptions about civil society in the interest of African reality. Hence the importance of this book! Show less
During the current economic and political crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, urban dwellers tend to display a large measure of creativity in the invention of survival strategies, the development of... Show moreDuring the current economic and political crisis in sub-Saharan Africa, urban dwellers tend to display a large measure of creativity in the invention of survival strategies, the development of social networks, and the construction of imaginative practices. This collective volume explores the importance of the urban neighbourhood in these creative processes. Two different approaches to the neighbourhood are pinpointed. The first perceives the neighbourhood as a geographical domain in which people are engaged in a variety of activities to advance their material and immaterial well-being, making use of the 'wealth' of opportunities, assets and forms of 'capital' (natural, physical, financial, human and social). The second approach sees the neighbourhood not as necessarily geographically bounded, but as created and defined by human beings. These 'neighbourhoods' may take the form of self-help organizations, associations, churches, etc. or may be based on gender, generational, ethnic and occupational identities. The two approaches do not necessarily exclude each other. The volume contains contributions on Nakuru, Kenya (Samuel OwuorandDick Foeken), Douala, Cameroon (Piet Konings; Basile Ndjio), Kampala, Uganda (Emmanuel Nkurunziza), Kano, Nigeria (Katja Werthmann), Accra, Ghana (Deborah Pellow), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (Eileen Moyer), Lom‚, Togo (Charles Piot), Mongo, Chad (Mirjam de Bruijn), and Aioun el Atrouss, Mauritania (Kiky van Til). [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
Political liberalization in Cameroon has been marked by the construction and mobilization of ethno-regional identities that pose a major challenge to the postcolonial nation-State project. This... Show morePolitical liberalization in Cameroon has been marked by the construction and mobilization of ethno-regional identities that pose a major challenge to the postcolonial nation-State project. This book focuses on Anglophone Cameroon, a region characterized by a widespread feeling that reunification with Francophone Cameroon in 1961 has led to a growing marginalization of the Anglophone minority. The book traces the historical trajectory of Anglophone Cameroon to reunification and outlines the strategies used by the Francophone-dominated State to undermine the identity of Anglophone Cameroon, the emergence of Anglophone organizations in the aftermath of political liberalization in the 1990s, the strategies employed by the Biya government to deconstruct the Anglophone identity, and Anglophone and Francophone responses to the Anglophone movements' views. It pays special attention to two of the major confrontations between the government and the Anglophones, namely the struggles for the preservation of the Anglophone educational and economic legacies. The book concludes with some suggestions on how the present stalemate between the regime and the Anglophone movement could be broken. [ASC Leiden abstract] Show less
This collection comprises the papers, opening speeches, and discussants' notes presented at the conference 'The political economy of Cameroon - historical perspectives', which was held at Leiden... Show moreThis collection comprises the papers, opening speeches, and discussants' notes presented at the conference 'The political economy of Cameroon - historical perspectives', which was held at Leiden from 1-4 June, 1988. The 34 papers were presented in ten sessions, dealing respectively with: The economy of labour and State intervention (3 papers) - Political economy, aspects (4) - Agricultural development: cooperatives and government interventions (3) - Plantation and peasant production (3) - Women's culture and political economic changes (4) - Accumulation: historical perspectives (4) - Accumulation in agriculture (4) - Rural development: case studies (4) - Political culture and national mobilisation (3) - State and civil society (2) Show less
A study based on fieldwork undertaken in 1975. Conclusion: Whilst an incipient working-class consiousness exists amongst the Ashanti Goldfield Corporation miners, the cumulative effect of the co... Show moreA study based on fieldwork undertaken in 1975. Conclusion: Whilst an incipient working-class consiousness exists amongst the Ashanti Goldfield Corporation miners, the cumulative effect of the co-existence of various modes of production, the constant confrontation of miners with the value systems and ideologies of the dominant classes in society, and the absence of a radical or revolutionary leadership and ideology makes gradual and sustained mobilization of class consciousness exceptionally difficult and thereby limits working-class actions, collective action is likely to continue to take the form of local wildcat strikes, because economic actions often arise out of a deeply-felt resentment against the present inegalitarian status quo. Such action, however, can be broken by management through dismissals, and by the State through a show of force Show less
