Introduction: The Perils and Possibilities of African Roads

Abstract

Roads and automobility on the African continent are commonly encountered with a rather ambivalent stance, both by Africans and Africanist scholars. This ambivalence emerges from what Adeline Masquelier describes as the ‘profoundly contradictory nature of roads as objects of both fascination and terror’ (2002: 381). In her widely received article on ‘road mythographies’ surrounding Niger's Route 1, Masquelier draws a vivid picture of the ‘contradictory aspects of the road as a space of both fear and desire’ (ibid.: 831). She highlights, in particular, how roadside residents perceive automotive travel as ‘a process fraught with risky and contradictory possibilities’ (ibid.: 832). A ‘pioneering study in the ethnography of roads’ (Campbell 2012: 498), Masquelier's account of people's profound ambivalence towards roads, mobility and transport in post-colonial Niger has been a source of inspiration for a range of scholars who have explored in a similar vein the intricate entanglement of people with (auto)mobility, space and modernity, both in Africa and elsewhere (see, for example, Khan 2006; Klaeger 2009; Dalakoglou 2010; Hart 2011). Five articles in this volume press ahead with the analytic theme of the ambivalence of roads. Through their historic analyses and ethnographic observations, the assembled case studies from Senegal, Ghana, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania give a strong sense of how the perils and possibilities of roads, roadsides, traffic and transport have been and continue to be embraced in the everyday lives of colonial and post-colonial subjects.

Urban fractures: mobility, risk and the accidenté in Kikwit, Democratic Republic of Congo

“…As sites of connectivity, interface and flow, roads bring together not only diverse actorscar and moto-taxis, private vehicles, NGO and state jeeps, pedestrians and street vendorsbut also an abundance of different meanings for those who navigate them. Ethnographies of African road-related experiences and discourses suggest that the road itself is essentially an ambivalent and liminal space, inspiring fear as well as desire, associated with both danger and opportunity (Beck et al 2017;Klaeger 2013;Masquelier 2002). 2 In Kikwit, the roads (banzila) connecting and running through the city fuel the commerce that is central to both its historical development and future growth, while their degraded condition symbolizes state neglect and ineffective local governance.…”

“…The dangers of everyday urban mobility thus remain rather overlooked, especially beyond the continent's megacities and national capitals. Anthropological attention to African roads has often approached roads as infrastructure and ambivalent icons of modernity, frequently focusing on highways and long-distance routes (Beck et al 2017;Klaeger 2013). Yet for the most part these studies do not bring us inside the city itself, with its unique patterns and rhythms of mobility.…”

Bulldozers, homes and highways: Nairobi and the right to the city

“…Indeed, critical political, sociological, and historical analysis is more the exception than the rule, in part because theorizing around transportation and hence the kinds of questions asked tend to be overly narrow and shaped primarily by economists and engineers. (Klopp 2011, 2) Amongst scholars, however, work is beginning to emerge that takes roads and automobility as its focus (Klaeger 2013;Lamont 2013). Much of this work is by anthropologists seeking to develop 'ethnograph[ies] of the road' (Lamont 2013, 368) or to explore 'road mythographies' (Masquelier 2002, 829) in what Klaeger (2013) has termed a 'mobility turn' in the humanities and social sciences (359).…”

“…(Klopp 2011, 2) Amongst scholars, however, work is beginning to emerge that takes roads and automobility as its focus (Klaeger 2013;Lamont 2013). Much of this work is by anthropologists seeking to develop 'ethnograph[ies] of the road' (Lamont 2013, 368) or to explore 'road mythographies' (Masquelier 2002, 829) in what Klaeger (2013) has termed a 'mobility turn' in the humanities and social sciences (359). Earlier work (Simon 1996) had sought to examine the importance of transport for development more broadly and was rooted less in anthropological or ethnographic perspectives than in critical development theory that took state policy as its focus.…”