Africa on the Move Migration, Translocal Livelihoods and Rural Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

This book discusses migration and space-spanning social network relationships as normal realities of life in African societies. It offers an overview of the research landscape and introduces an agency-centered theoretical model that provides a conceptual framework for translocality. The authors Malte Steinbrink and Hannah Niedenführ plead for a translocal approach to social transformation, showing how the translocality of livelihoods is shaping the lives of half a billion people on the continent and impacting local conditions. Using an action-oriented approach, the book analyzes the effects of translocal livelihoods on diverse aspects of economic, environmental and social change in rural Sub-Saharan Africa. The study thus makes an innovative contribution not only to migration research and development studies but also to the discussion around the policy and practice of development cooperation and planning. It is time to rethink development in light of translocal realities.

The book appeals to scholars and researchers in geography, sociology, policy-making and planning, development studies, migration research and rural development.

1              Introduction  | 13

2              Time for a Rethink  | 19

2.1          Research on Migration and Development: "Caught in Two Traps"  | 19

2.1.1      The Ideological Trap  | 21

2.1.2      The Territorial Trap  | 25

2.1.3      Impulses from International Migration and Development Research  | 26

2.2          The Limits of Rural-Urban Thinking  | 31

2.2.1      Rural-Urban Thinking in Development Theory: Dualistic Spatialization  | 32

2.2.2      Rural-Urban Thinking in Development Politics: Dualistic Persistences  | 36

2.3          Translocal Perspectives  | 39

 

3              Translocal Livelihoods – New Perspectives on Livelihood Research  | 45

3.1          Translocalizing the Livelihood Perspective  | 46

3.2          Methodological Implications: Concepts of Translocal Communities, Translocal Households and Translocal Livelihoods  | 49

 

4              Vulnerability and Translocality: Why Livelihoods become Translocal  | 57

4.1          Translocal Structuration: Translocality as Outcome and Condition of Livelihood Agency  | 57

4.2          The Translocalization of Livelihoods in the Context of Social Vulnerability  | 60

4.2.1      Economic Diversification, Vulnerability and Translocality  | 66

4.2.2      Migration, Vulnerability and Translocality  | 72

4.2.3      Social Networks, Vulnerability and Translocality  | 78

 

5              Translocal Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa  | 87

5.1          Urbanization Processes in Africa: "Urbanization without Growth but with Translocalization"  | 87

5.2          The Prevalence of Translocal Livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa – an Attempt at Quantitative Estimation  | 93

5.3          Translocal Patterns  | 99

5.3.1      Spatial Patterns | 99

5.3.2      Temporal Patterns  | 105

5.3.3      A Shift in Migration Forms in Translocalization Processes: "From Expansionists to Transmigrants"  | 110

5.3.4      Who Stays, Who Goes, Who Returns?  | 115

5.3.5      Translocal Communication Patterns  | 132

 

6              Influence of Translocal Livelihoods on Aspects of Rural Structural Transformation  | 137

6.1          Economic Dimensions of Translocal Livelihoods | 137

6.1.1      Remittances | 138

6.1.2      Work Force and Workload  | 164

6.1.3      Innovation and Knowledge  | 168

6.2          Ecological Dimensions of Translocal Livelihoods  | 172

6.3          Social Dimensions of Translocal Livelihoods | 181

6.3.1      Education  | 182

6.3.2      Gender  | 189

6.3.3.     Health  | 206

 

7              Conclusion  | 227

7.1          Translocal Livelihoods and the Persistence of Structural Inequality  | 230

7.2          The Translocality of Livelihoods as a Temporally Stable Phenomenon  | 234

7.3          Plea for a Translocal Awareness in Development Planning  | 236

 

References  | 241