Anita Schroven - Playing the marginality game : identity politics in West Africa

Playing the Marginality Game

Series Editor: Gnther Schlee, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology

Editorial Board: Brian Donahoe (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), John Eidson (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Peter Finke (University of Zurich), Joachim Grlich (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Jacqueline Knrr (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Bettina Mann (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology), Stephen Reyna (University of Manchester)

Assisted by: Cornelia Schnepel and Viktoria Zeng (Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology)

The objective of the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology is to advance anthropological fieldwork and enhance theory building. Integration and conflict, the central themes of this series, are major concerns of the contemporary social sciences and of significant interest to the general public. They have also been among the main research areas of the institute since its foundation. Bringing together international experts, Integration and Conflict Studies includes both monographs and edited volumes, and offers a forum for studies that contribute to a better understanding of processes of identification and inter-group relations.

Anita Schroven

Felix Girke

Philipp Schrder

Edited by Gnther Schlee and Alexander Horstmann

Edited by Bertram Turner and Gnther Schlee

Mateusz Laszczkowski

Rita Sanders

Edited by Jacqueline Knrr and Christoph Kohl

Michaela Pelican

Edited by Martine Guichard, Tilo Grtz and Youssouf Diallo

Identity Politics in West Africa

Anita Schroven

First published in 2019 by

Berghahn Books

www.berghahnbooks.com

2019 Anita Schroven

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without written permission of the publisher.

Names: Schroven, Anita, author.

Title: Playing the marginality game : identity politics in West Africa / Anita Schroven.

Description: New York : Berghahn Books, 2019. | Series: Integration and conflict studies ; v. 19 | Published in Association with the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, Halle/Saale. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018056883 (print) | LCCN 2018057357 (ebook) | ISBN 9781789201901 (ebook) | ISBN 9781789201895 (hardback : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Political participation--Guinea. | Democracy--Guinea. | Identity politics--Guinea. | Marginality, Social--Guinea. | Forcariah (Guinea : Region) | Guinea--Politics and government.

Classification: LCC JQ3381.A91 (ebook) | LCC JQ3381.A91 S37 2019 (print) | DDC 320.96652--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018056883

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78920-189-5 hardback

ISBN 978-1-78920-190-1 ebook

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Just as any part of life, books are a collaborative effort. Over the years, many people have contributed in the making of this book. My research on Guinea began in Halle in 2005, where I thank Jacqueline Knrr, Gnther Schlee and Richard Rottenburg for their continuous inspiration and support. The members and associates of the research group Integration and Conflict along the Upper Guinea Coast, including the late Christian Hjbjerg, supported the project throughout and helped me to hone my arguments and to embed my empirical findings in the broader theoretical debates of our region of study. I thank all my colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology for their creative engagements with the topics presented here. Engaging in theory or epistemological debates with colleagues studying vastly different regions and empirical phenomena brought out surprising connections in the universal humanity that we strive to grasp across the different fields of study. I am grateful for the kind support of all the staff, particularly Brian Donahoe, John Eidson, Joachim Grlich, Cornelia Schnepel and Jutta Turner who helped to bring it to completion. The staff at Berghahn Books have been constructive and patient with the final touches.

Alice Bellagamba, David Berliner, Vincent Foucher, Baz Lecocq, Mike McGovern, Bruce Mouser, Omar Ribeiro Thomaz and Ramon Sarr have also commented on different chapters and contributed their seasoned advice, as have the anonymous reviewers of previous drafts, all of whose input I am indebted to. Individual ideas and arguments have been discussed at various conferences and I thank all discussants for challenging ideas and adding theoretical body to the debates I am presenting here. In Guinea, members of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Universit Gamal Abdel Nasser de Conakry and Universit Gnral Lansana Cont de Sonfonia, particularly Professors Ansouman Camara, Fod Ciss, Moustapha Diop, Sidiki Kobl Keita and Aboubacar Tour, have shared their knowledge and archives with me, discussing arguments about potential futures and nostalgias of the past.