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Mobilizing Home: Diasporic Agitations and the Global Remakings of Postwar Southeastern Nigeria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2022

Vivian Chenxue Lu Open the ORCID record for Vivian Chenxue Lu [Opens in a new window]
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Abstract

In the context of shifting global geographies of labor and political volatility, Nigerian migrant associations play a significant role in organizing diasporic life. Yet, far from being a culturally static feature, Igbo Nigerian associations emerge through diasporic agitations, or dynamic mobilizations around particular events, crises, and projects that deliberately engage the postcolonial state. Lu first reconsiders the significance of 1970s post-civil war reconstruction in southeastern Nigeria before tracing subsequent transformations in flexible diasporic organizations within Global South locations such as China and Dubai. These agile and multi-scalar diasporic mobilizations enable their members to negotiate the nexus of postcolonial politics and transnational capitalism.

Résumé

Résumé

Dans le contexte de l’évolution des géographies mondiales du travail et de la volatilité politique, les associations de migrants nigérians jouent un rôle important dans l’organisation de la vie diasporique. Pourtant, loin d’être une caractéristique culturellement statique, les associations igbo nigérianes émergent à travers des agitations diasporiques, ou des mobilisations dynamiques autour d’événements, de crises et de projets particuliers qui engagent délibérément l’État postcolonial. Lu examine d’abord l’importance de la reconstruction post-guerre civile des années 1970 dans le sud-est du Nigeria avant de retracer les transformations ultérieures dans les organisations diasporiques flexibles dans les pays du Sud, tels que la Chine et Dubaï. Ces mobilisations diasporiques agiles et multi-scalaires aident leurs membres à négocier le lien entre la politique postcoloniale et le capitalisme transnational.

Resumo

Resumo

No contexto das geografias globais da mão de obra, em constante mudança, e da volatilidade política, as associações nigerianas de apoio aos migrantes desempenham um papel significativo na organização da vida em diáspora. No entanto, longe de serem culturalmente estáticas, as associações nigerianas da etnia igbo nascem de agitações diaspóricas, ou de mobilizações dinâmicas em torno de acontecimentos, crises e projetos específicos que envolvem deliberadamente o Estado pós-colonial. Lu começa por analisar o significado da reconstrução do pós-guerra civil na década de 1970, no sudeste da Nigéria, passando depois ao escrutínio das posteriores transformações em organizações diaspóricas flexíveis em territórios do Sul Global, como a China e o Dubai. Estas mobilizações diaspóricas ágeis e multiescalares ajudam os seus membros a negociar as ligações entre a política pós-colonial e o capitalismo transnacional.

Keywords

diasporacultural associationscivil warmigrationsouth-south globalizationChina-Africa StudiesNigeria
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 65 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 118 - 142
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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