Panel 94: Political Insecurity and the Production of Displacement Cultures

Situations of conflict and post-conflict in many African countries have led to academic reflections on the issue of security. What does this security, i.e. well-being related to political security, in these areas entail, and on whose (in)securities are we reflecting? Anthropological literature focuses on the question what security and insecurity means for ‘local’ populations. In this panel we hope to further this debate by focusing on the ‘struggle’ for identity and belonging among people who are living these political insecurities. We go beyond the conflict or causes of conflict per se and try to understand the situation for processes of identity formation through the lens of dilemmas, contradictions or even divisions that appear in society as a consequence of conflict, i.e. in terms of economic possibilities, religious choices, language shifts, and geographical shifts (displacements). The conflicts can be acute as well as long term, in the latter case the political insecurity is deeply engrained in the social fabric.

Conflicts can be wars but as well political oppression. In these situations people are forced to navigate these dilemmas and contradiction often forced to make ‘choiceless’ choices simply to ‘survive’ that on its turn shapes personality, or who one can be and thus relates to definitions of identity and sociality. We have labeled these shifts ‘displacement cultures’. Aim of the panel is to understand local dynamics of (political) insecurity and the way these influence how people carve out spaces of belonging, balancing in social spheres constructed of both uncertainty and opportunity.