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The wars of who belongs where : the unstable politics of autochthony on Kenya's Mt Elgon
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Lynch, Gabrielle (2011) The wars of who belongs where : the unstable politics of autochthony on Kenya's Mt Elgon. Ethnopolitics, Vol.10 (No.3-4). pp. 391-410. doi:10.1080/17449057.2011.596671 ISSN 1744-9057.
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17449057.2011.596671
Abstract
This paper examines the politics of belonging or autochthony on Mt Elgon in western Kenya, and associated occasions of inter- and intra-communal violence. The paper argues that divergent claims of ‘who is who’ and ‘who belongs where and why’ lie at the heart of these periods of violence, and suggests that the uncertainty of ‘belonging’ is due not just to the vagueness of the term and histories of migration, as is often argued, but to cross-cutting layers of ethnic appellations, which result from changes to administrative boundaries and ethnic terminology. Second, the paper argues that a violent politics of belonging has been exacerbated by a return to multi-party politics and larger global trends, but that it has not been caused by such developments. Instead, the case study suggests that the fundamental explanation of confrontation lies with the appeal and use of an inherently exclusive and unstable discourse of culturally distinct communities with discrete homelands that is then used by politicians and ordinary citizens in contexts of heightened competition, increased attention to the local, and uneven impact of ‘globalization’ and ‘development’. Finally, the case highlights the important role that new technologies play in contemporary public discussions and understandings of a collective self.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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Subjects: | D History General and Old World > DT Africa G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Group identity -- Kenya -- Mt. Elgon District, Mt. Elgon District (Kenya) -- Politics and government, Ethnicity -- Kenya -- Mt. Elgon District, Mt. Elgon District (Kenya) -- Social conditions, Ethnic conflict -- Kenya -- Mt. Elgon District | ||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Ethnopolitics | ||||
Publisher: | Taylor & Francis | ||||
ISSN: | 1744-9057 | ||||
Official Date: | 15 September 2011 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Vol.10 | ||||
Number: | No.3-4 | ||||
Page Range: | pp. 391-410 | ||||
DOI: | 10.1080/17449057.2011.596671 | ||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access |
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