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Accepted Paper:
First as Tragedy then as Farce: Gülenist exiles, City-Building, and South/South Relations in Maputo, Mozambique
Nikolai Brandes
(Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
Jason Sumich
(University of Essex)
In this presentation, we explore the ways in which city-building is shaped by “south/south” collaborations through the example of members of the Turkish Gülenist movement in Mozambique. We argue that their involvement in architectural production reconfigures social relationships in the city.
Paper long abstract:
In this presentation, we explore the ways in which city-building is shaped by “south/south” collaborations through the example of exiled members of the Turkish Gülenist religious movement in Mozambique. Following its persecution in Turkey, the Gülen movement has recently gained prominence in many countries in Africa in a number of economic and cultural areas such as trade, schooling, and housing. In Maputo, Gülenist firms specialise in building “middle class” housing and gated communities, forward looking symbols of a supposedly more prosperous future. We argue that their involvement in architectural production embodies a field of action through which the social relationships in the city (and beyond) play out. Many companies and academics alike tend to frame "South-South" collaborations as warrantors of a brave new urban future without imperial hegemony. However, we claim that these projects both shape and are shaped by a social field which recreates many aspects of power relations, inclusion and exclusion that resemble previous eras, such as those from the colonial period.