Citizenship moods in the late Museveni era : a cartoon-powered analysis
Ssentongo, J. S., & Alava, H. (2023). Citizenship moods in the late Museveni era : a cartoon-powered analysis. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 17(1-2), 301-324. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2023.2238376
Published in
Journal of Eastern African StudiesDate
2023Copyright
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
This article develops the concept of citizenship moods to analyse citizens’ emotional (dis)engagements with the state in Uganda. Through a reflexive analysis of ethnographic and media material from 2019–2021, we claim that around the time of the 2021 elections, after 35 years of rule by Yoweri Museveni’s National Resistance Movement, the most prevalent moods among Ugandans were fear, contentment, cynicism, anger, hope, and despondency. Prior to the elections, hope soared, but this gave way to despondency following the state’s violent crack-down on opposition. Building on work on citizenship, affect, emotion, and politics, we theorise that citizenship moods are experienced both individually and collectively; coexist, transform, and fluctuate over time; and affect and are affected by political and societal change. In Uganda, a key change is the growth of intersecting ethnic, regional, generational, and class inequalities. Citizenship moods structure, transform, and vitalise the relationship between the state and its citizens, and analysing them contributes to imagining the possibilities of democratic change in Uganda and beyond. The article introduces a method of cartoon-powered sociopolitical analysis. The inherent attunement of cartoons to bodily postures and expressions enables analytical insight and effective communication of research results, and can contribute to advancing research justice.
...
Publisher
Informa UK LimitedISSN Search the Publication Forum
1753-1055Keywords
Publication in research information system
https://converis.jyu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/184228458
Metadata
Show full item recordCollections
Related funder(s)
Research Council of FinlandFunding program(s)
Academy Programme, AoFAdditional information about funding
Henni Alava’s fieldwork was supported by the Academy of Finland’s DEVELOP-programme [grant nos 316098 and 316100] (‘Theory and practice of learning to be a citizen: Experiencesfrom Tanzania and Uganda’).License
Related items
Showing items with similar title or keywords.
-
At the Intersection of Instrumentalism, Understanding, and Critique : Reflections on Development Research on Citizenship in Uganda
Alava, Henni; Kontinen, Tiina (Nordic Africa Research Network, 2022)This special issue showcases four analyses of lived citizenship in Uganda – a country previously known as a donor darling but, recently, better known for its steady slide towards authoritarian rule (Ssentongo 2021, Tapscott ... -
NGO Legitimacy as a Continuous Negotiation Process : Fostering ‘Good Citizenship’ in Western Uganda
Kontinen, Tiina; Bananuka, Twine Hannington (Nordic Africa Research Network, 2022)The article draws on and contributes to debates on the legitimacy of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) engaged in development, defining organizational legitimacy as a social construct that is continually negotiated in ... -
The everyday and spectacle of subdued citizenship in northern Uganda
Alava, Henni (Routledge, 2020)Drawing on ethnographic research in the Acholi town of Kitgum in northern Uganda, this chapter illustrates how citizenship practices are embedded in particular relationships between the state and its citizens. Two key ... -
Tiny Citizenship, Twisted Politics, and Christian Love in a Ugandan Church Choir
Alava, Henni (Nordic Africa Research Network, 2022)In 1977, the Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, Janani Luwum, was killed under orders from President Idi Amin following his public criticism of Amin’s reign of terror. This article offers an ethnographic case study of a ... -
Women’s multifaceted citizenship in rural Uganda : an exploration of identity, belonging and spaces of participation
Del-Castillo-Munera, Laura (2021)This research studies women’s citizenship practice exploring their daily interactions and participation in the rural districts of Kiboga and Namutumba in Uganda. Analyzing women’s daily interactions in the private and ...