The Perils of Belonging

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.

ISBN 0226289656   Pages 304 ISBN13 9780226289656 (What's this?)   Volumes 1 Publisher The University of Chicago Press   Weight (grammes) 386 Imprint University of Chicago Press   Published in Chicago, IL Format Paperback   Height (mm) 229 Publication date 02 Jun 2009   Width (mm) 152 Library of Congress 2008032270   Spine width (mm) 20 DEWEY 305.8   Academic level Postgraduate DEWEY edition DC22

Ch. 1		Introduction: Autochthony - the Flip Side of Globalization?		1
Ch. 2		Cameroon: Autochthony, Democratization, and New Struggles over Citizenship		39
Ch. 3		Cameroon: Decentralization and Belonging		66
Ch. 4		African Trajectories		97
Ch. 5		Autochthony in Europe: The Dutch Turn		130
Ch. 6		Cameroon: Nation-Building and Autochthony as Processes of Subjectivation		169
Ch. 7		Epilogue: Can the Land Lie? Autochthony's Uncertainties in Africa and Europe		212
		Notes		225
		Bibliography		263
		Index		279

"This is an ambitious, astute, and timely effort to address one of the most interesting and potentially troubling trends in our contemporary world, namely, the rise of politically charged passions about belonging. Geschiere's judicious and incisive analysis offers a model of how an academic investigation can shed light on a major global problem." - Daniel Jordan Smith, Brown University"

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