Abstract While Africa’s rapid urbanisation is expected to transform many aspects of political, economic and social life, decades of Africanist research shows that urban migration rarely severs rural ties. Building on this tradition, we use original survey data from 472 residents of Nairobi, Kenya, to examine how multiple forms of rural connection vary with urban duration and urban (re)orientation. We conceptualise four analytically distinct linkages – direct personal contact, provision of material support, anticipation of a rural safety net and spiritual connection – and measure each within a single empirical framework. We find that rural linkages do not diminish over time among first-generation migrants, but do decline across generations, with spiritual ties being especially persistent. Strong rural linkages are generally associated with weaker integration into urban social and political life. By disaggregating rural–urban connections and situating them in the temporal dynamics of urban residence, this article clarifies when and how African urbanisation transforms social and political orientations and provides a framework for cross-city and cross-country comparison.

How to Become a Big Man in Africa: Subalternity, Elites, and Ethnic Politics in Contemporary Nigeria by Wale Adebanwi DOI:10.2307/jj.15369554 Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2024. Pp. lvii+526. US$49 (pbk).

Soldier’s Paradise: Militarism in Africa After Empire by Samuel Fury Childs Daly, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2024. Pp. 284. $28.95 (Pb), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478059820 - Volume 63 Issue 2

Africa's Railway Renaissance: the role and impact of China edited by Tim Zajontz, Pádraig Carmody, Mandira Bagwandeen and Anthony Leysens London and New York: Routledge, 2023. Pp. xxiii + 258 + Index. doi: 10.4324/9781003208594. - Volume 63 Issue 1

Abstract This paper examines state-business relations in Somalia. It argues that the Somali case presents a unique model of private sector development, where advanced businesses in the telecommunications, banking and financial sectors emerged despite the lack of formal state structure. The establishment of a formal government in 2012, however, raised questions about the ‘nexus between state and capital’, particularly on whether state institutions were ‘pivotal’ for business. In interrogating this question, the paper employs a qualitative process tracing approach and examines the relationship between the state and one of the largest private sector players – the telecommunications sector. It focuses on tracing the tax relations, which, as the material basis of the social contract between the state and society, offered fundamental clues into the sector’s willingness to invest in the state project. The article finds that despite capital’s capacity to survive in such contexts, there are certain junctures when formal state institutions emerge as critical for business operations. Thus, rather than a straightforward structural relationship between public and private power, the Somali case explicates the moments and instances when the state becomes critical for capital accumulation and offers greater insight into the molecular processes that underlie state-capitalist relations within the African context.

The Journal of Modern African Studies offers a quarterly survey of developments in modern African politics and society.It seeks to publish original empirical research, which helps to illuminate broader issues affecting Africa.Papers derived from fieldwork in Africa are particularly welcome.Its main emphasis is on current issues in African politics, economies, societies, and international relations, seeking to benefit from the work of specialists in different academic disciplines, and of those who are currently engaged in the affairs of the continent.It does not normally publish general overviews, literature surveys, or expressions of personal opinion.While recognising that sound research is an essential prerequisite for public policy, its central concern is with understanding, rather than with policy implications.Historical studies will normally be accepted only when they are directly relevant to the understanding of modern Africa.The Journal, which is fully refereed, seeks to promote a deeper understanding of what is happening in Africa today.It is intended not only for students and academic specialists, but also for general readers and practitioners with a concern for modern Africa, living and working both inside and outside the continent.Contributions should therefore be presented in such a way as to be accessible to any informed and interested reader, and papers which take a narrowly technical or disciplinary approach will not be accepted.Editorial policy avoids commitment to any political viewpoint or ideology, recognising that a wide range of different approaches are needed in order to understand developments in Africa, and that approaches which are unfashionable at one moment may well become widely accepted at another.Controversial papers, and papers which seek to challenge current orthodoxies, are therefore welcome, subject only to the recognition that the purpose of the Journal is to promote understanding, rather than to act as the mouthpiece for polemic.