Informal institutions and citizenship in rural Africa : risk and reciprocity in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire

This book challenges previous assumptions about institutions, social capital, and the nature of the African state by investigating the history of political and economic change in villages on either side of the Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire border. Prior to European colonial rule, these Akan villages had very similar political and cultural institutions. By the late 1990s, however, Lauren M. MacLean found puzzling differences in the informal institutions of reciprocity and indigenous notions of citizenship. Drawing on extensive village-based fieldwork and archival research, MacLean argues that divergent histories of state formation not only shape how villagers help each other but also influence how local groups and communities define citizenship and then choose to engage with the state on an everyday basis. She examines the historical construction of the state role in mediating risk at the local level across three policy areas: political administration, social service delivery, and agriculture, highlighting the importance of the colonial and postcolonial state in transforming informal institutions. --Book Jacket "Comparing communities on both sides of the Ghana-Cote d'Ivoire border, MacLean demonstrates that patterns of reciprocity are shaped by the role that the colonial and postcolonial state has played in mediating risk. Where the state has played a central role, as in Cote d'Ivoire, rural villagers' need to self-insure through investment in social ties is less, and informal institutions of reciprocity tend to focus around the nuclear family. Where the state has played a more limited role, as in Ghana, informal social exchanges are less frequent but take place among a broader array of partners. MacLean skillfully draws out the implications of these findings for a series of important outcomes, including the likelihood of social conflict, the treatment of marginal community members, understandings of the rights and duties of citizenship, and the viability of democracy. In its thorough fieldwork, theoretical ingenuity, and clever research design, this book exemplifies the most exciting recent research on Africa."--Daniel Posner, University of California, Los Angeles "In this rigorous account of two regions on either side of the border between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana, Lauren MacLean exposes surprising variation in the exercise of state power, patterns of reciprocal exchange, and understandings of citizenship at the local level. Her claims regarding the mutually transformative effects of the interaction between formal state policies and informal institutions challenge conventional assumptions about Africa's ẁeak states'. The multi-method approach and methodically executed research design raise the threshold for social science work on Africa."--Anne Pitcher, University of Michigan The informal institutions of reciprocity: a quantitative puzzle and analysis Local conflicts over the meaning of reciprocity: a qualitative analysis of change The legacies of the colonial administrative state in constructing the citizen, family, and community roles The construction and retrenchment of state social service provision and the unintended consequences for reciprocity The empire of the young: contrasting legacies of state agricultural policy for local capitalism and reciprocity Transformations of the informal institutions of reciprocity and the implications for citizenship. "This is an excellent contribution to the study of African politics. By using village data from Ghana and the Ivory Coast, MacLean demonstrates convincingly how the informal institutions of reciprocity and local notions of citizenship have changed in different ways in the two countries due to different state policies. She advances the research on informal institutions and their role in politics in important ways that subsequent work on the subject cannot ignore."--Goran Hyden, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of Florida "An insightful study of divergences in political culture on either side of an African national boundary. The author illuminates how social practice is shaped by state policy and in turn influences the prospects for citizenship and democracy. A testament to the importance of informal institutions and the relevance of multidisciplinary social science."--Michael Bratton, Michigan State University Lauren M. Maclean. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.