Improvement Associations among the Afikpo Ibo

Ottenberg, Simon

doi:10.2307/1156893

Cited by 29 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Early studies (Banton 1956;Beidelman 1970;Clement 1956;Hamer 1967;Little 1957;Meillassoux 1968;Ottenberg 1955;Parkin 1966) of nationally based HTAs were conducted at a time when African countries were rapidly urbanizing and modernization theories dominated the study of developing areas. These theories associated modernization with the rise of market capitalism and a shift from communal to individualistic relationships.…”

Section: Tracing Politics In the Study Of African Hometown Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small is beautiful: the micro‐politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home

Mazzucato

Kabki

2009

Global Networks

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In this article we investigate why some hometowns in Ghana are more successful than others in mobilizing resources for community development projects from their hometown associations (HTAs) abroad. We analyse the praxis of HTA‐financed development by studying all actors involved in the process – HTAs and migrants abroad and local community leaders and their populations in Ghana. We find there is a relationship between the size of the community and the effectiveness of HTA mobilization. From a matched sample of five villages and towns in Ghana and their respective HTAs in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, we conclude that three important factors are at play in the relationship between size and effectiveness – the micro‐politics of relationships between migrant and local leaders; the institutions that exist at the village/town level to create incentives or sanctions for migrants; and the relationships of trust between the different actors involved.

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Section: Tracing Politics In the Study Of African Hometown Associationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small is beautiful: the micro‐politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home

Mazzucato

Kabki

2009

Global Networks

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“…4. Other names used for very similar social institutions include: Traditionalist associations (Lloyd, 1967: 196;Ottenberg, 1959: 39), Ethnic associations (Lloyd, 1967: 197), Ethnic unions (Smock, 1971), Improvement associations (Ottenberg, 1955), Improvement unions (Uchendu, 1965: 36), Development associations (Kerr, 1970), Non-kinship associations (Uchendu, 1965: 76-83), and Traditional organizations (Siebel and Massing, 1974).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voluntary Associations in West Africa: "Hidden" Agents of Social Change

Kerr¹

1978

African Studies Review

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The purpose of this paper is to indicate how one area of social science research may contribute to social and economic development in the Third World. International aid and technical assistance programs for less developed nations began in the late 40s shortly after World War II. The interest of scholars in the study of such programs also dates from this time (Opler, 1954). Ever since the early days, we, the social scientists, have been called upon to explain the failure of many assistance efforts or to discern why new ideas and practices caused chaos in the societies into which they were introduced. An example of an early program failure was documented in Peru when village women failed to use the “good” public health practice of boiling contaminated water before drinking it after the method had been advocated in an extensive education campaign by public health personnel (Wellin, 1955: 71-103). The disorganization of a society in the face of what appeared to be a relatively minor technological improvement of an existing tool, was reported in 1952 after missionaries gave steel axes to Australian aborigines (Sharp, 1952: 66-92). The determination of the adverse social consequences of innovation was an important aspect of the early studies done by social scientists, especially anthropologists (Rogers, 1962: 27). Though there were reports of cross-cultural diffusion which did not affect societies adversely, for example, the adoption of potato growing by a Pacific Northwest Indian tribe (Suttles, 1951: 272-88), many reports appear to concentrate upon the damage done by technical assistance programs (Dobyns, 1951;Bliss, 1952;Mead, 1955; Erasmus, 1961).

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“…Another key way in which London-based Nigerian women seek, and are seen, to contribute to their communities at 'home' and 'abroad' is by forming their own organisations. Women's organisations are widely considered a well-established element of associational life in Nigeria, especially in the southern half of the country (Amadiume, 1987(Amadiume, , 2000Barnes, 1975;Chuku, 2005;Denzer, 1994;Honey and Okafor, 1998;Ikelegbe, 2001Ikelegbe, , 2005Imam, 1997;Mba, 1982;Nolte, 2008;Olukoshi, 1997;Ottenberg, 1955;Pereira, 2000;Trager, 2001;Ukeje, 2004). Consequently, their formation in diaspora is routinely seen by respondents simply as a reproduction of a conventional practice from 'home' rather than any sort of novel diasporic trend aimed at reconfiguring conventional gender norms.…”

Section: 'I Would Rather Prefer My Husband To Go': Diasporic Associatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Diaspora and Development? London‐based Nigerian Organisations and the Transnational Politics of Socio‐economic Status and Gender

Lampert

2012

Development Policy Review

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Diaspora organisations are increasingly being lauded as important actors in the development of their communities and countries of origin. Focusing on London‐based Nigerian organisations and their interventions in Nigeria, this article assesses the particular claims that diaspora organisations reach, benefit and ‘empower’ women and ‘the poor’ at ‘home’. It argues that, while many London‐based Nigerian organisations do connect with and support these groups, they often do so in ways that reinforce rather than transform established gender relations and socio‐economic inequalities. If international agencies are to support the progressive potential of the organised diaspora, it will be necessary to acknowledge the alternative and socially mediated ways in which development might be imagined and enacted both in diaspora and at ‘home’.

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Improvement Associations among the Afikpo Ibo

Cited by 29 publications

References 3 publications

Small is beautiful: the micro‐politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home

Small is beautiful: the micro‐politics of transnational relationships between Ghanaian hometown associations and communities back home

Voluntary Associations in West Africa: "Hidden" Agents of Social Change

Diaspora and Development? London‐based Nigerian Organisations and the Transnational Politics of Socio‐economic Status and Gender

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