Although the Horn of Africa was historically one of the earliest destinations for Yemeni migrants, it has been overlooked by scholars, who have otherwise meticulously documented the Yemeni presence in the Indian Ocean region. Subjects of Empires/Citizens of States draws on rich ethnographic and historical research to examine the interaction of the Yemeni diaspora with states and empires in Djibouti and Ethiopia from the early twentieth century, when European powers began to colonize the region. In doing so, it aims to counter a dominant perspective in Indian Ocean studies that regards migrants across the region as by-products of personal networks and local oceanic systems, which according to most scholarship led to cosmopolitan spaces and hybrid cultures. Samson Bezabeh argues that far from being free from the restrictions of state and empire, these migrant communities were constrained, and their agency structured, by their interactions with the institutions and relations of states and empires in the region. Elegantly combining theoretical readings with extensive empirical findings, this study documents a largely forgotten period in the history of Yemeni migration as well as contributing to the wider debates on class, citizenship, and ethnicity in relation to diaspora groups. It will appeal to specialists in Middle East studies and to those who study the Indian Ocean and Horn of Africa regions, as well as to migration and diaspora studies scholars, nongovernmental organizations, and policy makers concerned with the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region.

A compelling revisionist study of diaspora and migration in the Indian Ocean region

About the Author
Samson A. Bezabeh is a social anthropologist and fellow of the Africa Study Center in Leiden. He was previously a post-doctoral researcher at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and has been affiliated with the University of Bergen, the University of Exeter, and Addis Ababa University. His research interests include diaspora studies, state-society interaction, conflict and conflict management, and issues of citizenship, ethnicity, and class in the Horn of Africa.

Reviews
"Samson Bezabeh builds on Aihwa Ong and others to show how migrant networks and 'cosmopolitanism' in the space of flows of the Indian Ocean, are deeply structured by territorial powers of empire and state. His case of Yemeni traders in Djibouti is fascinating in its own right and wonderfully executed. In Bezabeh's hands it is turned into an eloquent and important argument of taking state formations seriously and refuse the facile opposition of flows versus hierarchies that has marked much of migration studies, and of Indian Ocean studies as well."--Don Kalb, Central European University, Budapest"This fine study of Yemeni migration in the Horn of Africa by a brilliant Ethiopian scholar should be a wake-up call for the entire field of Indian Ocean studies. In a powerful critique of tired and overused concepts like 'hybridity, ' 'transnational flows, ' and 'cosmopolitanism, ' which have been routinely used to convey a sense of unity of the Indian Ocean world, Samson Bezabeh brings the state back in--and politics."--Andre Wink, University of Wisconsin-Madison"This rich and diverse work is a major step in the creation of a body of social science work on Djibouti that is now in process. It shows why Djibouti should be included in current studies of the Near East and East Africa. It opens new trails and helps us understand aspects of the social history of Djibouti that go well beyond the Yemenis."--Simon Imbert-Vier, Universite de Provence, Aix Marseille"



Book Information
ISBN 9789774167294
Author Samson A. Bezabeh
Format Hardback
Page Count 272
Imprint The American University in Cairo Press
Publisher The American University in Cairo Press
Weight(grams) 676g