Neoliberal Bandwagonism: Civil society and the politics of belonging in Anglophone Cameroon
Neoliberal Bandwagonism: Civil society and the politics of belonging in Anglophone Cameroon
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新自由主义追随主义：喀麦隆英语国家的公民社会和归属政治
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发表时间：
2009
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通讯作者：
P. Konings
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
P. Konings
公民社会和赋权已经成为新自由主义发展话语中的流行语。然而，关于民间社会在具体情况下的实际性质和结构，仍有许多悬而未决的问题。通常，虽然新自由主义者认为公民社会组织是成功实施所期望的经济和政治改革的重要中介渠道，但他们倾向于将非洲和其他地方这些改革的糟糕记录归咎于当前归属感政治的复苏。这本书驳斥了这些观点，并指出，在非洲，公民社会与归属感政治之间的关系比西方捐助者和学者愿意承认的要复杂得多。科宁斯认为，民族-地区协会和运动是非洲公民社会的重要组成部分，而传统的公民社会组织往往是不加批判地强加或认可的。他令人信服地表明，在当前的新自由主义经济和政治改革中，在喀麦隆乃至非洲大部分地区如此普遍的归属感政治是如何渗透到集体生活的整个范围的。这就要求为了非洲现实的利益，对民间社会的普遍观念和假设进行批判性的重新评价。这就是这本书的重要性！
Civil society and empowerment have become buzz words in neoliberal development discourse. Yet many unanswered questions remain on the actual nature and configuration assumed by civil society in specific contexts. Typically, while neoliberals perceive civil-society organisations as vital intermediary channels for the successful implementation of desired economic and political reforms, they are inclined to blame the current resurgence of the politics of belonging for the poor record of these reforms in Africa and elsewhere. This book rejects such notions and argues that the relationship between civil society and the politics of belonging is more complex in Africa than western donors and scholars are willing to admit. Konings argues that ethno-regional associations and movements are even more significant constituents of civil society in Africa than the conventional civil-society organisations that are often uncritically imposed or endorsed. He convincingly shows how the politics of belonging, so pervasive in Cameroon, and indeed much of Africa, during the current neoliberal economic and political reforms, has tended to penetrate the entire range of associational life. This calls for a critical re-appraisal of prevalent notions and assumptions about civil society in the interest of African reality. Hence the importance of this book!