Afropolitanism, celebrity politics, and iconic imaginations of North–South relations

Abstract

'Afropolitanism' has become a disputed term referring to diverse engagements by Africans who are typically members of the cultural elite and participate in diaspora politics, online activism, fashion and literature debates. Simultaneously, in discussions of development aid, celebrity has become a way of mediating between proximity and distance in imagining relationships between South and North. Afropolitanism can be usefully considered as an Africa-specific, post-colonial form of cosmopolitanism that spans discourses of elite pan-African culture to theories of elite global aid culture. We argue that there are essential connections between the rise of Afropolitanism and the celebritization of North-South relations. In this realm, "Afropolitanism" is an idea combining cosmopolitanism's notions of kindness to strangers in a world where the 'kindness' is aid and the 'strangers' are Africans. We analyse two archetypical Afropolitan performances by Danish aid celebrities to argue that their representations of Africa's external relations are theoretically more interesting, and politically more dangerous, than is currently understood. In doing so, we expand the debates around Afropolitanism and celebritization from the realm of cultural politics to one of International Relations.

Celebrity Humanitarianism: Using Tropes of Engagement to Understand North/South Relations

“…Because of their exceptionalism, celebrities are considered able to represent world citizens, or embody cosmopolitan ideals (Partzsch 2018; Richey and Christiansen 2018). In North/South relations, performing embodied cosmopolitanism provides a particular challenge.…”

“…In North/South relations, performing embodied cosmopolitanism provides a particular challenge. One intriguingly disputed incidence of this is “Afropolitanism” (Richey and Christiansen 2018). This term refers to the work of cultural elites, either African or of African origin, in diaspora politics, online activism, fashion, and future debates.…”

“…Afropolitanism is an idea combining cosmopolitanism’s notions of kindness to strangers in a world where the “kindness” is aid and the “strangers”’ are Africans. (Richey and Christiansen 2018, 238)…”

“…Joof had her acting debut in 1985 playing Josephine Baker in a “variety show”, 21 and she revisits this role, playing with racial stereotypes, in a promotion campaign for the Danish branch of Fair Trade, where she has been an “ambassador” since 2011 and her image is adorned with a large banana headdress. (Richey and Christiansen 2018, 255) 22…”

“…20Aaron Bady, ‘‘Afropolitan’’, State of the Discipline Report , April 2014, , retrieved February 1, 2016, cited in Richey and Christiansen 2018, 238.…”