The rise of Africa's middle class : : myths, realities and critical engagements / / edited by Henning Melber.

• Superior document: Africa now
• TeilnehmendeR: Melber, Henning,
• Place / Publishing House: London, England : : Zed Books,, 2016.; [London, England] : : Bloomsbury Publishing,, 2021
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Africa now (Zed Books)
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (ix, 219 pages).

Across Africa the narrative of "Africa rising" has taken root in a burgeoning middle class. Ambitious and increasingly affluent, this group symbolizes the values and hopes of the new Africa, and they are regarded as important agents of both economic development and democratic change. This narrative, however, obscures the complex and often ambiguous role that this group actually plays in African societies. The Rise of Africa's Middle Class brings together a diverse range of economists, political scientists, and development experts to provide a much needed corrective, overturning the received wisdom within development circles and providing a fresh new perspective on social transformations in contemporary Africa. Featuring a wide array of case studies from across sub-Saharan Africa and covering highly topical issues, including black middle-class support for the ANC in South Africa and anti-government activism in Nigeria, this collection of essays is a timely, on-the-ground look at the realities behind the idea of Africa rising.

Table of Contents

'Somewhere above poor but below rich' : explorations into the species of the African middle class(es) / Henning Melber -- African middle classes : lessons from transnational studies and a research agenda / Carola Lentz -- Human development and the construction of middle classes in the global south / Tim Stoffel -- Africa's middle class, Africa's entrepreneurs and the 'missing middle' / Oluyele Akinkugbe and Karl Wohlmuth -- Deconstructing the myth of the African middle class / Sirkku K. Hellsten -- Kenya: an unconscious middle class? : between regional-ethnic political mobilization and middle class lifestyles / Dieter Neubert -- Middle class activism in Nigeria : from nationalist struggle to social media campaign / Nkwachukwu Orji -- Emerging middle class political subjectivities in post-war Angola / Jon Schubert -- The middle class of Mozambique and the politics of the blank slate / Jason Sumich -- South Africa's black middle class professionals / Amuzweni L. Ngoma -- The middle class of Dar es Salaam and Kiswahili video-Films / Vicensia Shule -- How much class have the African middle classes? / Henning Melber.