Displacement, labour and the making of global cities in Somalia

In this event, Jutta Bakonyi (Durham University) and Peter Chonka (King’s College London) will speak about their recent book on Precarious Urbanism: Displacement, Belonging and the Reconstruction of Somali Cities (Bristol University Press, 2023).

Focusing on the agency and labour contributions of people ‘internally displaced’ by conflict and climate-crisis linked environmental shocks, the session will discuss the making of dynamic, transnational and contested cities in the Horn of Africa.

There will also be a screening of a new short film directed by the authors that features the testimonies and photographs taken by participants in this research.

The authors will be joined by Dr Surer Mohamed, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge, who will discuss her own work on the politics of urban belonging in Somalia.

The event will be chaired by Dr Kieran Mitton, Reader in Conflict, Security & Development in the Department of War Studies at King's.

This event is part of the African Leadership Centre's Africa Week 2024 celebrations taking place 4-8 March 2024.

This event is in-person only.

About the speakers

Jutta Bakonyi is a Professor in Development and Conflict in the School of Government and International Affairs at Durham University.

Peter Chonka is a Senior Lecturer in Global Digital Cultures in the Department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London.

Surer Mohamed is a Harry Frank Guggenheim Research Fellow at Pembroke College, University of Cambridge.

Kieran Mitton is a Reader in Conflict, Security & Development in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London.