Ambivalent rage

Philipps Joschka

Description

Why do urban youth gangs protest against a political regime? And why do their protests occur right in the center of a capital city? Ambivalent rage investigates the world of youth gangs and politics in the West-African city of Conakry, Guinea. It sheds lights on how young men organize in gangs, how they perceive, confront and collaborate with the political elite and how his translate their precariousness into political instability.

Sujets

• Sociologie
• Sociologie, société et politique

Informations

• Publié par: L'Harmattan
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 7
• EAN13: 9782336323626
• Langue: Français
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

the

Joschka Philipps

Youth Gangs and Urban Protest in Conakry, Guinea AMBIVALENT RAGE

Ambivalent rage

Joschka Philipps

Ambivalent rage

Youth Gangs and Urban Protest in Conakry, Guinea

© L’Harmattan, 2013 5-7, rue de l’Ecole-Polytechnique, 75005 Paris http://www.librairieharmattan.com [e-mail] [e-mail] ISBN : 978-2-343-01577-4 EAN : 9782343015774

For Thomas

Table of Contents

1I NTRODUCTION

2T HE AMBIVALENCE OF A FRICAN YOUTH

3Y OUTH IN C ONAKRY ’ S RECENT POLITICS

13

25

39

4C ONAKRY ’ S YOUTH GANGS  57 4.1 Gangs as social organizations .................................................60 4.2 Gangs in the protest economy .................................................78 4.3 Gangs’ culture of confrontation..............................................95

5Y OUTH GANGS IN URBAN SPACE  117 5.1 Conakry’s ‘Axis of Evil’.............................................................. 119 5.2 Why do protests culminate along the axis?.................... 128 5.3 Explosive relations ..................................................................... 156

6S UMMARY AND DISCUSSION

A NNEX :F IELDWORK IN C ONAKRY

R EFERENCES

7

175

187

199

Acknowledgements The research for this book in 2009 and 2010 has been the most exciting and enriching academic experience that I could have imagined. Turning it into a book has equally pushed my limits of imagination: I would never have guessed how much time it demands. (By way of illustration, in between the research and the publication, youth have stormed the political scene across the globe and Guinea-Conakry has had its first democratic elections!) Throughout this time, I was lucky to have been surrounded by many people and institutions in Guinea, Germany, and Switzerland, whose support has been essential for the completion and publication of this work. Let me start expressing my gratitude by turning to the Guineans, and, more specifically, the person who paved the way for this study: Thomas Grovogui. Aside from Thomas’s seemingly boundless social networks, I am most grateful for his sincerity, knowledge, open-mindedness, humor and friendship, which have guided me way beyond academia. My gratitude also goes out to Quentin Kanyatsi and the Kanyatsi family for their hospitality and the stimulating discussions at the dinner table. I thank the 2009/10 Search for Common Ground team in Conakry (Nestor, Estelle, Maïmouna, Sidiki, Laye, Mamadi, Bamba, Aminata, Ibalba, Alsény, Madame Sow, Marie, Paul- André) for their continuous support, the laughs and friendships. The same goes for Alseny Kaba, who has been a great organizer of the conference on youth and politics at the Université Kofi Annan in 2010. Thanks for a variety of reasons go out to Abdourahmane Sagnane who had the brilliant idea to publish the study at L’Harmattan Guinée, to Azoka Bah, who, aside from being a very knowledgeable interviewee, introduced me to Sansy Kaba from L’Harmattan, and of course Sansy Kaba himself, whom I thank sincerely for his encouragement during the final stages of the publication process. Among the many experts whom I have had the chance to interview, I am particularly indebted to Dr. Bano Barry,

9