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E-book International Aid and Urban Change : Humanitarian Presence in Bamako, Abidjan, Nairobi and Juba

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Penilaian

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This work is the result of research started in 2014, on the processes of urban transformations in Bamako Juba, Nairobi and Abidjan in relation to the pres-ence and security policies of UN missions and international aid. The results of this research highlight an uneven process of territoriality where humanitarian organisations operate.The focus of this work originates in my work as a cartographer for humani-tarian demining in Mali during the year 2013. My arrival at the beginning of the year in Mali was part of a larger trend of aid workers landing after the French military intervention that pushed back the jihadist movements that had taken over the north of the country the previous year. I stayed in the city of Bamako most of the year and left in December. From the time I arrived in Bamako to when I left, the atmosphere had changed spectacularly.In the wake of the French intervention, French flags were hanging every-where, along with pictures of then- French President François Hollande. Malians enthusiastically asked me if I was French and looked almost sad and disap-pointed when I answered by the negative. By the time of my departure, a number of demonstrations against the French and the UN presence had taken place, and the word on the street was no longer as positive as before. Many Malians were ac-cusing the French army and the United Nations of supporting Tuareg separatists in the North.During the course of this year, I lived and worked, as a number of expatriates, in the affluent neighbourhood of Badalabougou, located south of the Niger River. Like many fellow aid workers, I lived in hotels for months, and at other times along with colleagues in a villa. I was struck by the power of the UN and the aid community in general taking over public and private places. Barriers and sandbags were installed in streets. Hotels and bars were crowded with expatriates. This newcomers’ power was not always benevolent and sometimes reflected in diverse forms offensive remarks against Malians. During this year, the streets of Bamako changed a lot, with highly visible United Nations- marked white cars now part of the city scene. Roadblocks completed the picture, along with street checkpoints operated by security companies.These changes in the Malian capital are not an exception, and many African cities witness similar processes. The presence of international aid in different places produces relatively similar marks of presence. The place of security meas-ures and devices appears ubiquitous wherever international aid settles in. This research is in line with an ambition to observe and understand a socio- spatial process much wider than Bamako and the other case studies presented in this document. The intriguing process of urban transformation by an outside social body ab-sorbed me enough to start a doctoral research, based on a number of questions and assumptions centred on security policies and practices in relation to the urban environment. The questions that prompted this research focused on three main aspects: the production and dissemination of security discourses, the materiality of the aid presence and the transformative aspects of this mate-riality. Humanitarian aid, despite being generated by a number of different organisations, responding to different social or political ambitions, and thematic specialities, form a coherent social body able to influence a variety of social environments. The discourse of fear and security needed to implement models of defensive urbanism are organised under global security structures. How are these discourses produced and disseminated throughout the wide and diverse social body of aid workers? How are these discourses translated into the mate-rial environment and social practices? What social and spatial transformations occur in the cities with a large presence of humanitarian aid?

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Ketersediaan

Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

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No. Panggil

320 DER i

Penerbit

Switzerland : Peter Lang International Academic Publishers., 2022

Deskripsi Fisik

366 hlm

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

9783034345620

Klasifikasi

320

Tipe Isi

text

Tipe Media

computer

Tipe Pembawa

online resource

Edisi

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Subjek

Political dan Government Science

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

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Versi lain/terkait

Lampiran Berkas

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