Paper short abstract:

Urban based ethnic associations in Africa serve as a platform for bringing various actors together and also facilitate the consolidation of resources. However, limited knowledge exist on the conduct of the relationships between associations, and also with public institutions.

Paper long abstract:

Urban ethnic-based associations in Africa are generally known for supporting their members to adjust to life in the cities. The various ethnic and cultural associations they belong to provide members with critical information on opportunities available in the cities, and also on how to access them. They serve as a platform for bringing various actors together and also facilitate the consolidation of resources, which in turn maximize the value of individual activities and earnings in the urban centres. In doing all these, urban-based ethnic associations functionally replace the extended family units within whose tradition of socio-cooperation the new entrants into the cities were brought up. This no doubt has implications for civil society and its engagement with urban processes. In this regard, the importance of urban ethnic-based associations as agents for political mobilisation is not contested. Associational ethnicity continues to be active in Africa's urban areas, however, questions about how these associational forms have evolved, and how they work, as important as they are for conducting the mapping and assessment of the capacities of contemporary African cities, have not received adequate scholarly attention. Thus, the following questions guide the study of urban ethnic associations and politics of resource allocation in urban Africa: What practices are entailed? What is the glue that cements real collaboration beyond ethnic ties? While we know, for instance, that ethnic and cultural associations shape urban politics, provide platforms for competition and struggle for space, opportunities and resources, limited knowledge exist on the conduct of the relationships between associations, and also with public institutions.