Hybrid Uptakes of Neoliberal Conservation in Namibian Tourism‐based Development

Neoliberal conservation schemes involving nature‐based tourism are implemented throughout the developing world to address rural poverty. Drawing on socio‐economic surveys and in‐depth interviews, this article uses the case of Uibasen Conservancy in Namibia to investigate social responses to neoliberal conservation. We find that people's aspirations for upward economic and social mobility lead them to participate in neoliberal conservation projects in an attempt to combine economic opportunities created by nature‐based tourism with traditional livelihood strategies. In this case, certain aspects of neoliberal conservation are perceived as a source of hope for non‐elites seeking to achieve economic self‐sufficiency and to ascend social hierarchies. We find that intra‐community power struggles dominate discourses of discontent and local‐level conflict which consequently masks the disruptive and anomic forces of the global tourism industry. We additionally provide insight into specific social contexts that may increase the allure of neoliberal conservation and explain why marginalized individuals may embrace some neoliberal logics despite — or, perhaps, because of — their disruptive tendencies.     

Leaving for work,leaving in fear (Respond to this article at http://www.therai.org.uk/at/debate)

In June 2010 outbreaks of violence between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks began in the Kyrgyzstani cities of Osh and Jalal‐Abad and quickly spread to neighbouring towns. The mass aggression ended relatively quickly, but individual acts of brutality primarily aimed at Uzbeks have continued; the number of Uzbeks leaving the region for work appears to be rising quickly. McBrien reflects on the link between the increase in labour migration and the ethnic violence of June 2010 in a small town that has been her primary fieldsite for the past eight years.