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Migration, urbanization, and political power in Sub-Saharan Africa
African political geographies have been overlooked in the discussion of internal migration and urbanization. Yet institutional changes since the early 1990s altered the practices of acquiring and keeping power across Africa, and it is now possible to address how rural and urban areas have changed as a result. In this article, the focus is on how political practices interact with circular internal migration flows. “Democratic” practices depend on the manipulation of rural spatial clustering and migration, but modern political institutions effectively disenfranchise urban and migrant voters, resulting in the continued reproduction and exacerbation of spatial inequalities. Further, these are responsible for the poor conditions of urban areas, the proliferation of rural bias across states, and limited support for urban political identities and programmatic change.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Annals of the Association of American GeographersISSN
0004-5608Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
2Volume
104Page range
253-261Department affiliated with
- Geography Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes