Paper short abstract:

Social networks are paramount to offering assistance in (future) times of need. Within networks circulate “credits and debts, and entrustments and obligations”. African middle classes gain options to secure their livelihoods outside social networks transforming logics of solidarity and care.

Paper long abstract:

Studies on the vulnerable in Africa show that social networks are paramount to offering assistance in (future) times of need. Within networks circulate “credits and debts, and entrustments and obligations” (Shipton 2007). The family network, neighbours, church communities, and money-saving associations are resources to share good times and cushion times of hardship. This paper aims to unpack the middle classes' access and usage of social networks as well as their attitude towards them.

With increased access to government social security programmes and private commercial insurance, the African middle classes gain options to secure their livelihoods outside social networks. Social security is partly institutionalised and outsourced. But networks have not lost in value, they are of importance to the middle classes. My case study from Kenya highlights that networks “open doors”, prevent social fall, establish middle-class spaces, and follow self-making projects. Some neighbourhood gatherings look like shareholder meetings, some wealthier churches teach morals of self-help and outsource financial assistance. While some family networks have to make decisions about whom to sponsor: Those with high potential and those carrying high risks for the network. And often middle-class interlocutors appear as providers and mentors; positions that signal social standing and fellowship. In short, the middle classes are in a constant negotiation process about which networks are to be maintained and which ones have to be rejected to avoid overburdening debts and a gain in status. These logics challenge the romanticised idea of the good and caring solidarity webs.