‘Masterless Men’; Riots, Patronage and the Politics of the Surplus Population in Kinshasa

Trapido, Joe

Abstract

On the basis of fieldwork in Kinshasa, this essay makes a link between riots, the recent anthropology of “surplus populations,” and distributive politics in low-income countries, especially Africa. Tracing the history of a political demonstration turned riot, it shows how distribution structures the interactions between rich and poor in the city. Situating the riot in a context in which subjects are dependent on the market for goods but are not able to sell their labor, the essay shows the riot to be a rational intervention in a place where elites do not see popular support as especially important and where occupying space and controlling circulation and distribution are the primary political-economic imperatives.

Citation

Trapido, J. (2021). ‘Masterless Men’; Riots, Patronage and the Politics of the Surplus Population in Kinshasa. Current Anthropology, 62(2), 198-217. https://doi.org/10.1086/713765

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 19, 2019
• Publication Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Oct 2, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Oct 2, 2019
• Journal: Current Anthropology
• Print ISSN: 0011-3204
• Electronic ISSN: 1537-5382
• Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 62
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 198-217
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/713765
• Keywords: DRC, Riots, Surplus populations, political anthropology.