Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa Pailey Paperback

Development, (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents in AfricaThe Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia

Based on rich oral histories, this is an engaging study of citizenship construction and practice in Liberia, Africa's first black republic.

Robtel Neajai Pailey (Author)

9781108812528, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 July 2022

295 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.4 kg

'Development (Dual) Citizenship and Its Discontents is a significant contribution in thinking about the ways in which Liberians in-country and the diaspora conceive of citizenship, how their contemporary constructions of Liberian citizenship deviate or cohere according to their lived experiences and socio-economic positions, and how they practise citizenship in the everyday. With rich qualitative data and analyses, the book is a wonderful contribution to the extant literature on politics and citizenship, particularly when considering its relational, spatial and temporal aspects. It is a work that is accessible beyond academic circles in and enlivened by Pailey's unique and engaging tone. It is a timely and important piece of work that deserves deep and wide engagement.' Sibongile Zulu, Global Policy

Drawing on rich oral histories from over two hundred in-depth interviews in West Africa, Europe, and North America, Robtel Neajai Pailey examines socio-economic change in Liberia, Africa's first black republic, through the prism of citizenship. Marking how historical policy changes on citizenship and contemporary public discourse on dual citizenship have impacted development policy and practice, she reveals that as Liberia transformed from a country of immigration to one of emigration, so too did the nature of citizenship, thus influencing claims for and against dual citizenship. In this engaging contribution to scholarly and policy debates about citizenship as a continuum of inclusion and exclusion, and development as a process of both amelioration and degeneration, Pailey develops a new model for conceptualising citizenship within the context of crisis-affected states. In doing so, she offers a postcolonial critique of the neoliberal framing of diasporas and donors as the panacea to post-war reconstruction.

Introduction1. Methodological, Theoretical, and Biographical Reflections2. The Political Economy of Belonging to Liberia3. Dual Citizenship and Its Discontents in Africa4. Give Me Your Land or I'll Shoot!5. Between Rootedness and Rootlessness6. The Dichotomy of Diasporic DevelopmentalismConclusionAppendix I. A Proposed Act to Establish Dual Citizenship for Liberians by Birth and BackgroundAppendix II. Dual Citizen and Nationality Act of 2019Appendix III. Proposition #1: To Amend Article 28 of the Constitution to Provide for the Inalienability of the Citizenship of Natural Born Citizens of Liberia (Dual Citizenship).

Subject Areas: Political structure & processes [JPH], Oral history [HBTD], Social & cultural history [HBTB], African history [HBJH]