Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi
In central Nairobi, crackdowns on illegal street trading by officers from the local authorities are a daily occurrence. Based on an ethnographic study of encounters between street traders and officers during crackdown operations in and around the Nairobi CBD, this article argues that crackdowns work...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Journal of Urban Research
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Articulo: Journal of Urban Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/articulo/3391 |
| _version_ | 1818952552852488192 |
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| author | Brigitte Dragsted-Mutengwa |
| author_facet | Brigitte Dragsted-Mutengwa |
| author_sort | Brigitte Dragsted-Mutengwa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In central Nairobi, crackdowns on illegal street trading by officers from the local authorities are a daily occurrence. Based on an ethnographic study of encounters between street traders and officers during crackdown operations in and around the Nairobi CBD, this article argues that crackdowns work as a platform for exchanges and thereby for the formation of social relationships. It explores how such relationships are formed and maintained during crackdowns, and how a range of urban actors has interests invested in them. The article contributes to regional literature on street trading by proposing a view of urban governance as emerging through everyday interactions and relations between urban actors. Furthermore, the article contributes to scholarship on relational urban governance by exemplifying how anthropological notions of exchange provide an analytical avenue through which such everyday interactions and relations can be explored. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T09:52:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bcc8a16a3f8b4746872912a7af7ddf17 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1661-4941 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T09:52:12Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | Journal of Urban Research |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Articulo: Journal of Urban Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-bcc8a16a3f8b4746872912a7af7ddf172022-12-21T19:44:34ZengJournal of Urban ResearchArticulo: Journal of Urban Research1661-49412018-03-011710.4000/articulo.3391Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in NairobiBrigitte Dragsted-MutengwaIn central Nairobi, crackdowns on illegal street trading by officers from the local authorities are a daily occurrence. Based on an ethnographic study of encounters between street traders and officers during crackdown operations in and around the Nairobi CBD, this article argues that crackdowns work as a platform for exchanges and thereby for the formation of social relationships. It explores how such relationships are formed and maintained during crackdowns, and how a range of urban actors has interests invested in them. The article contributes to regional literature on street trading by proposing a view of urban governance as emerging through everyday interactions and relations between urban actors. Furthermore, the article contributes to scholarship on relational urban governance by exemplifying how anthropological notions of exchange provide an analytical avenue through which such everyday interactions and relations can be explored.http://journals.openedition.org/articulo/3391Nairobistreet tradersexchangerelationspolicingurban governance |
| spellingShingle | Brigitte Dragsted-Mutengwa Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi Articulo: Journal of Urban Research Nairobi street traders exchange relations policing urban governance |
| title | Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi |
| title_full | Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi |
| title_fullStr | Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi |
| title_short | Street Traders and “Good Officers”: Crackdowns as a Relational Form of Urban Governance in Nairobi |
| title_sort | street traders and good officers crackdowns as a relational form of urban governance in nairobi |
| topic | Nairobi street traders exchange relations policing urban governance |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/articulo/3391 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brigittedragstedmutengwa streettradersandgoodofficerscrackdownsasarelationalformofurbangovernanceinnairobi |