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Paper short abstract:

This paper examine the effects of social and political transformations on the formation of the middle class in Mozambique.

Paper long abstract:

Many commentators have recently argued that a rising 'middle class' in Africa will be crucial for development, democratization and stability. Despite the normative value attached to this social group, its definition and sociological composition remain extremely vague. In this presentation I argue that it is mistaken to view it as an existing social group, but instead as a process that develops through relationships between members, the state and wider social groups. I trace the on-going formation of a 'middle class' in Maputo, Mozambique, and how this has been affected by wider social/political transformations. By focusing on a specific case I ask if, under current conditions, are the middle classes still seen as a bulwark of 'civil society' keeping the state in check and creating the foundations of a 'liberal' political system, or has increasing uncertainty created a desire amongst its members for a resurgent moral authoritarianism.