Landholding and the Creation of Lumpen Tenants in Freetown: Youth Economic Survival and Patrimonialism in Postwar Sierra Leone

Abstract

This article is an ethnographic study that situates the caretaker phenomenon within the wider system of patrimonialism in Sierra Leone. It addresses the ways urban landholding creates a class of lumpen tenants and reproduces patrimonialism in postwar Sierra Leone. The article is based on select data regarding landholding in the environs of Freetown drawn from a larger study of youths and governance. The article shows that in Sierra Leone, patrimonialism, both in its private and state variants, is tied to corruption and economic and political exploitation. In addition, the dependency relationship between landowners and caretakers is a reflection of the unequal access to resources and the everyday application of power. The article points to various economic survival strategies of youths who have migrated to Freetown during and after the war. Moreover, it shows the ways youths build social capital within the patrimonial system of Sierra Leone.

Keywords

youths elites patrimonialism urbanization corruption Sierra Leone

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