Social contract implications of state and non-state managed social cash transfers: History, citizenship, and in/exclusion

Malin Nystrand (Contributor), Rehema G Kilonzo (Contributor)

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference abstract for conferenceCommunication

Abstract

Social cash transfers have expanded considerably over the last decade in Africa. While the largest programs are run by public institutions, cash-transfer projects managed by NGOs and humanitarian organizations are becoming increasingly involved, but have so far received only scant academic attention. This panel explores the social contract implications created by social cash-transfer programs managed by both the state and non-state actors in Africa. Previous studies on the social contract dynamics of publicly managed cash-transfer programs show that they can have positive inclusion effects. In contrast, in other cases, they have negative effects on in/exclusion of different population groups in the social contract. Social cash-transfer programs managed by non-state actors can nonetheless also improve state-society relations by creating new social contract dynamics. Both state and non-state cash transfers can therefore create a visible link between the state and its citizens, leading to changes in the citizen’s view of the state and increases in the state’s legitimacy in the eyes of citizens. This panel asks 1) What type of social contracts are produced by social cash transfers? 2) Do non-state programs and projects create similar or different types of social contract dynamics as publicly managed programs?, or 3) Do they lead to the creation of other ideas of belonging and forms of in/exclusion? We invite papers exploring the social contract implications of state and non-state cash transfer projects and programs.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date1 Jun 2023
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2023
EventECAS (European Conference on African Studies). : African Futures - University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
Duration: 31 May 20233 Jun 2023
https://www.ecasconference.org/2023/

Conference

ConferenceECAS (European Conference on African Studies).
LocationUniversity of Cologne
Country/TerritoryGermany
CityCologne
Period31/05/202303/06/2023
OtherUniversity of Cologne “African Futures” aimed to explore the continent’s critical engagements with the past, present, and future of Africa’s global entanglements. 1900 delegates from 80 countries came together in Cologne at end-May addressing the theme by presenting 1400 papers across 245 panels/roundtables.
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