City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

The perils of belonging, autochthony, citizenship, and exclusion in Africa and Europe, Peter Geschiere

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

The perils of belonging

electronic resource

Peter Geschiere

autochthony, citizenship, and exclusion in Africa and Europe

In this work, 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., 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 autochthonymeaning born from the soilseek 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 autochthonyas well as its dubious historical basisand to shed light on a range of important issues, such as multiculturalism, national citizenship, and migration

specialized