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Being young in the Guinée Forestière: members of youth associations as political entrepreneurs
Journal
Stichproben : Wiener Zeitschrift für kritische Afrikastudien
Volume
16
Number
30
Pages / Article-Number
63-86
Keywords
Guinea, Political Change, Youth, Entrepreneurship, Politics
Abstract
This paper is a contribution to a better understanding on what it means to be young and to grow up amidst political transformation processes in Guinea in the 2000s. It focuses on students and graduates in Guéckédou, a border town in the Guinée Forestière. How do these youths gain a living and participate in a complex and turbulent socio-political landscape? The qualitative research showed that they followed various economic activities in parallel; amongst others they were busy with so-called youth associations, the main focus of this paper. I argue that these youth associations can be described as self-created arenas for both economic and political participation. Thus, the members represent “political entrepreneurs” as their practices have to be situated in-between money-making, investment and political involvement. Interestingly, they thereby collaborate with various actors and institutions, including local elders, the state administration or local political parties and NGOs.
Publisher
ECCO Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Angewandte Afrikanistik
