The Casamance Conflict remains a critical factor in Senegal's contemporary political landscape, reflecting deep-rooted regional grievances characterised by long standing socio-economic disparities,...Show moreThe Casamance Conflict remains a critical factor in Senegal's contemporary political landscape, reflecting deep-rooted regional grievances characterised by long standing socio-economic disparities, political marginalisation. The region's unresolved tensions - similar to those leading to conflict outbreak in 1984 - continue to shape national politics, particularly in the context of the rise of anti-establishment populist Ousmane Sonko and the 2024 Senegalese presidential election. This study examined the interconnected roles of the Casamance and the localised conflict, Ousmane Sonko success, and the 2024 Constitutional Crisis. It sought to understand how "Low-Intensity Conflicts" and core-periphery dynamics have catalysed Ousmane Sonko's emergence as the dominant figure, influencing the longue-durée trajectory of Senegalese democracy. This study used a mix-methods approach, integrating fieldwork, expert interviews, media and literature analysis, and ethnographic obersations to reach conclusions on the Casamance's centrality to Senegalese politics in the 2020s. Findings indicate that the Casamance's socio-political marginalisation and systemic economic exploitation have catalysed Ousmane Sonko's political appeal and anti-establishment politics. The Constitutional Crisis of 2024, triggered by then-President Macky Sall, exacerbated core-periphery tensions and undermined national stability, cementing deep-rooted issues amongst the governing class. Ultimately, Senegal's unique political culture and regionally-distinct institutional resilience triumphed amidst a paradigm of regional democratic backsliding, leading to a peaceful transition of power. The findings of this study highlight the critical role of the Casamance in reshaping Senegal's future despite polemic marginalisation.Show less
The local Chuth Ber residents have a water kiosk in their community delivering clean drinking water thanks to the partnership between the SWAP Kenya organisation and the University of Illnois,...Show moreThe local Chuth Ber residents have a water kiosk in their community delivering clean drinking water thanks to the partnership between the SWAP Kenya organisation and the University of Illnois, Chicago and Jaramogi Odinga Oginga University of Science and Technology (JOOUST). A success story in so many ways, however despite an innovative solution producing healthy drinking water, this interdisciplinary study examines the different opportunities and reasons behind re-contamination of this water taken from the Sola Maji kiosk, whether at the collection point, while being transported or within the confines of the home. Based on confirmed evidence of drinking water re-contamination, research through ethnography, interviews and focus groups, aimed to understand from a bottom up approach about the lived experiences of those selling, delivering and managing this water in this peri-urban community outside Kisumu city, Kenya. This research was conducted through the participation of the local community including the water kiosk manager, the boda boda water delivery riders and two focus group studies consisting of the ladies that manage water in the homes, and the findings were examined using an interdisciplinary approach through the lens of anthropology and communication. The findings demonstrated how an innovative solution has vulnerabilities when the environment and the local people themselves, are not fully considered from particular perspectives. Additionally, evidence emerged that the importance of understanding the lived experience of the participants delivering and managing drinking water must be factored into such solutions in order to achieve a fully sustainable success story. The aim of this research was to add context and insight into the re-contamination occurrences, in order to consider mitigation where possible for the future planned expansion of the Sola Maji kiosk projects around Kisumu city in Kenya. This in turn is also relevant to other water kiosks in Kenya that operate in a similar manner in peri-urban communities similar to Chuth Ber.Show less
The shifting of workers from agriculture to other more productive sectors is defined in academic circles as structural transformation. Tanzania’s experience with structural transformation looks...Show moreThe shifting of workers from agriculture to other more productive sectors is defined in academic circles as structural transformation. Tanzania’s experience with structural transformation looks different. Instead of manufacturing, labour in Tanzania appears to move from agriculture to the services sector. This structural shift also differs from the development experience in other regions like the United States, Europe, and East Asia. Such a pattern drives us to rethink whether and how the development service sectors can function as an alternative path to achieve sustainable economic growth in Tanzania without a robust manufacturing sector. This research thesis adopts a mixed method between quantitative and qualitative approaches to understand the role of manufacturing, service and servicification activities in determining the pattern of structural transformation in Tanzania from 1961 to 2021. Two disciplinary approaches are combined. First, the historical description is adopted to present Tanzania’s economic development trajectory. Secondly, in this trajectory, methods and materials are adapted from economics, to show with macroeconomic data how the country’s national economy has evolved over time. Focus is placed on policies that were implemented as well as the turning points where shifts become obvious in national economic processes. This thesis found that the service sector could enhance Tanzania’s economic growth and development if linked to industrial activities, specifically manufacturing. In general, the structural transformation from agriculture to the industrial sector in Tanzania still generated the highest growth and gains in worker productivity, except after the Arusha Declaration between 1967 and 1985. It is difficult for late industrialised countries, such as Tanzania, which lacks a strong manufacturing core, to pursue industrialisation and compete with what East Asian countries have achieved. However, the servicification of manufacturing provides an opportunity to bypass the manufacturing stage and keep up with the recent trend of global industrialisation.Show less
The world has witnessed many years of advocacy and attempts to improve the lives of menstruating women. This was done by trying to address access to sanitary products and facilities, as well as a...Show moreThe world has witnessed many years of advocacy and attempts to improve the lives of menstruating women. This was done by trying to address access to sanitary products and facilities, as well as a non-material threat – the menstrual stigma. Kenya is no exception to this, and in fact, it has been considered at the forefront of menstrual awareness campaigns in the Global South with its ‘free pads for schoolgirls’ policy and menstrual health management agenda. Yet in the context of all that, 2019 was shaken by a girl committing suicide after feeling the shame of leaking in school, and 2023 began with a “scandal” of a Kenyan senator who was sent home for wearing blood-stained pants. These medialized events and many others happening in the private lives of ordinary people highlight that the menstrual stigma is still very present and powerful. For this reason, this research attempted to find out how women in Kenya talk about menstruation in a private, family context in ways that influence the cultural knowledge and understanding of young women, and how these young women engage with this information to reinforce or change perceptions. It was found that there is still considerable silence and stigma surrounding the transmission of period-related knowledge, which reproduces menstrual stigma among young women. Nonetheless, the younger generation is influenced by their own experience, current campaigns, and social media to become more open and approachable parents in the future.Show less
This work starts with two interrogatives, asking whether Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana contribute to the economy, and to what extent they are integrated in the country. To understand these...Show moreThis work starts with two interrogatives, asking whether Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana contribute to the economy, and to what extent they are integrated in the country. To understand these issues, a historical framework is outlined to understand the Zimbabwean migratory flows to Botswana. Therefore, an analysis of the economic movements created by Zimbabwean immigrants in Botswana, both documented and undocumented ones, is conducted on the basis of quantitive and qualitative data collected during fieldwork research in Gaborone at the beginning of 2023. Overall, this work shows that Zimbabwean immigrants generate enormous amounts of money yearly in Botswana. On the other hand, it cannot be easily said that Zimbabweans are integrated into the country. While they are now a normalized presence in it and feel so accordingly, they do not enjoy structural integration.Show less
The arts have proven to be a transformative force for social change in the Senegalese context (Dimé, 2022; Gueye, 2013). This interdisciplinary study deploys an artistic lens to analyse the ...Show moreThe arts have proven to be a transformative force for social change in the Senegalese context (Dimé, 2022; Gueye, 2013). This interdisciplinary study deploys an artistic lens to analyse the “migration” situation, as artists are an emerging actor in the Senegalese “migration” discourse. It adopts a more reflective stance in the study of “migration”-related art by exploring what knowledge Senegalese artists and artistic practices produce about “migration”. Through ethnographic fieldwork and in-depth interviews, this research includes a series of reflections on artistic practices and the stories voiced by artists. The analysis follows the storyline of the documentary Bataaxal and is divided into four parts. The first focuses on the feeling that is produced by the aesthetic elements of art and how this is relates to politics, by drawing on the work of Jacques Rancière (2003). The second subsequently focuses on the narrator’s memories, emotions, words, and phrases and how these are involved in the production of meaning. The third section then turns to a comparison between the broader thematic foci that are covered by the artists and their works. Conversely, the fourth section locates the role of place and time in the production of artistic practices. How these findings relate to existing academic work is then analysed in the discussion. Finally, the study concludes by reaffirming that artists are deeply rooted within “migration” discourses; however, the artists and their knowledge are intertwined with their milieu, as much as the created art is related to the construction of the phenomenon of “migration”. As a result, the transformative capacity of art is questionable, as the art may inadvertently reproduce dominant and problematic narratives that have been constructed by government policies and international organisations to frame people on the move as a problem.Show less
In this study, nurses’ well-being is explored in the context of the local efforts working towards nurses’ wellness. The often silenced voices of Kenyan nurses are transformed into a theatre script...Show moreIn this study, nurses’ well-being is explored in the context of the local efforts working towards nurses’ wellness. The often silenced voices of Kenyan nurses are transformed into a theatre script to portray the findings. An ethnographic research gap on the topic focuses on the qualitative study of well-being through psychological, socio-economic, and political lenses. The research is grounded in theory from Giddens (1984), Sen (1993), and De Bruijn and Both (2018), and navigates the agency-structure debate along with the model of duress to reflect on and understand the nurses’ position in a constraining environment. The research focused on two level 5 facilities, which are county referral hospitals, in two different counties of Kenya. The following research methods are conducted: a survey on socio-economic well-being with 65 respondents; interviews focusing on factors affecting nurses' well-being conducted through 4 focus group discussions with 39 nurses of different seniority levels and facilities, and informal interviews with approximately 25 nurses; and lastly, participant observation focusing on nurses agency and structures in places of gathering. Altogether, the results conclude that the healthcare structures pertain as constraints on the nurses’ agency and well-being despite the local efforts against this that may seem to have a positive impact. This is not to say that such local efforts should not continue, but rather to add a widespread focus on changing the outdated health structures that are limiting the majority of Kenya’s health workforce.Show less
Somalis have been living in Kenya since the colonial era. They were brought to Nairobi by British administrators in the 1800s to be a part of the labour force. Under colonial rule, Somalis were...Show moreSomalis have been living in Kenya since the colonial era. They were brought to Nairobi by British administrators in the 1800s to be a part of the labour force. Under colonial rule, Somalis were considered to be perceived as racially ambiguous, and this perception remained after the departure of the British from Kenya. The Kenyan state has historically treated the ethnic Somali group in Kenya as “other” by having Kenyan-Somalis continuously prove their citizenship in the form of mass detainments, or through screening processes. This can have an effect on how Kenyan-Somalis feel in Kenya. This leads to the research question: “What are the feelings of citizenship and belonging in Kenyan-Somali women in Nairobi and how are they expressed?” The researcher recruited three experts in this field and Kenyan-Somali women who reside in Nairobi. Participants were gathered through snowball sampling. Moreover, the date was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews which would then be analysed thematically in order to see what their feelings of citizenship and belonging are. The feelings were assessed through three sub-questions. The results indicate that the participants do claim a sense of belonging in Nairobi. This could be associated due to the change in the constitution of 2010 in Kenya. This research also utilised the Allen et al (2021) sense of belonging model, and demonstrated that a sense of belonging has almost been completely achieved. Despite this, perceptions of belonging have not been fully completed. Policies should assess which areas make Kenyan-Somalis feel like they do not belong in Kenya, due to the fact that migration is a recurring theme in society.Show less
During the late twentieth century, international volunteering has become one of the fastest growing trends in traveling. The rise of the voluntourism sector has been accompanied by a rise of...Show moreDuring the late twentieth century, international volunteering has become one of the fastest growing trends in traveling. The rise of the voluntourism sector has been accompanied by a rise of research on this matter. Yet, compared to volunteers and volunteer tourism organizations (VTOs), host communities receive the least attention in studies on voluntourism. This research has been devoted to bring forward the local, Ghanaian perspective on Western volunteers in community development projects. Results from semi-structured interviews with community members of Tinkong, Ghana, indicate that support from outside, including from Western volunteers, is considered necessary for Ghanaian communities to further develop. At the same time, true contact between volunteers and hosts mostly lacks, which forms a profound barrier to the establishment of cross-cultural interaction. Besides, the way participants speak of Western engagements reveals that their judgement is not just based on the kind of work that Western NGOs or private organizations do, but that it also strongly relates to factors that go beyond the impact of volunteers themselves, such as Ghana’s political situation. More longitudinal research on voluntourism helps in working towards the holistic, multi-disciplinary understanding of the topic that is needed.Show less
Nigerian dairy imports lead to an annual cash outflow of 1.3 billion USD. To mitigate this harmful effect, the Nigerian government urges dairy corporations to source milk locally. FrieslandCampina...Show moreNigerian dairy imports lead to an annual cash outflow of 1.3 billion USD. To mitigate this harmful effect, the Nigerian government urges dairy corporations to source milk locally. FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC (FCW), a subsidiary of the Dutch multinational Royal Friesland Campina N.V. (FC), is the market leader in Nigeria and launched the mDairy pilot with the goal of enhancing the local sourcing of milk. The two primary functions of mDairy are milk tracing and e-extension on innovative dairy practices. To investigate whether m-Agri services can bring significant contributions to the Nigerian dairy sector, I employed a case study on mDairy where I compared it with m-Agri services that Dutch dairy farmers successfully use. I conducted nineteen interviews on eleven different stakeholders and conclude that there are two obstacles that need to be overcome before mDairy can be used on a nation-wide scale. Firstly, Nigerian farmers need to undergo an ideological and behavioural change as they need to be more aware of and better understand innovative dairy practices. One-on-one contact, potentially with Dutch farmers, can foster this. Secondly, I argue from world-systems theory (WST) that a fundamental change is required as Nigerian farmers compete with their fresh whole milk against the imported fat-filled milk powder (FFMP). These are two different products and the latter is less nutritious. Importing FFMP is cheaper than sourcing milk locally because FFMP is primarily made from a by-products which can be sold at a very low price. I find that sourcing whole milk locally may be cheaper than importing whole milk or whole milk powder. Nigeria finds itself in a difficult position since it does not have the machinery to produce FFMP itself and it has limited power to make demands on dairy corporations since it is dependent on these corporations for the country’s dairy supply.Show less
