Politics of Origin in Africa

In this revealing new book, Bøås and Dunn explore the phenomenon of 'autochthony' - literally ‘son of the soil’ - in African politics. In contemporary Africa, questions concerning origin are currently among the most crucial and contested issues in political life, directly relating to the politics of place, belonging, identity and contested citizenship. Thus, land claims and autochthony disputes are the hallmark of political crises in many places on the African continent.

Examining the often complex reasons behind this recent rise of autochthony across a number of high-profile case studies - including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Kenya - this is an essential book for anyone wishing to understand the impact of this crucial issue on contemporary African politics and conflicts.

Morten Bøås is senior researcher at Fafo Institute for Applied International Studies in Oslo. His recent publications include Global Institutions and Development: Framing the world? (with Desmond McNeill, 2004), New and Critical Security and Regionalism: Beyond the nation state (with James J. Hentz, 2003), African Guerrillas: Raging against the machine (with Kevin Dunn, 2007) and, most recently, International Development, Volumes I-IV (with Benedicte Bull, 2010).

Kevin C. Dunn is an associate professor of political science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY, USA. His publications include Imagining the Congo: The international relations of identity (2003), Africa’s Challenge to International Relations Theory (with Timothy M. Shaw, 2001), Identity and Global Politics: Theoretical and empirical elaborations (with Patricia Goff, 2004) and African Guerrillas: Raging against the machine (with Morten Bøås, 2007).