Various Bushmen (or San)[1] groups in southern Africa have been involved in a variety of paternalist relationships throughout history, with other groups acting as ‘superior’ to them and thus regarding them as ‘inferior’. In pre-colonial days, many have been engaged as serfs in a variety of patron-client relationships with black pastoralists (see, for example, Wilmsen…Read more Postcolonial paternalism in tourism and development among the Bushmen of southern Africa
New paper: State paternalism and institutional degradation at Treesleeper Eco-camp: Community-based tourism and the loss of sovereignty among Bushmen in Namibia
A new paper about Treesleeper Camp, where I used to work long ago and where I will go back soon (and about which I have written various papers in the past). I wrote it together with my collegues Verina Ingram and Mariska Bijsterbosch. The paper addresses the project's challenges at a local level, and how…Read more New paper: State paternalism and institutional degradation at Treesleeper Eco-camp: Community-based tourism and the loss of sovereignty among Bushmen in Namibia
New paper: Popular Philanthrocapitalism? The Potential and Pitfalls of Online Empowerment in “Free” Nature 2.0 Initiatives
Check out this new paper here. I wrote it together with Robert Fletcher, and it is a critique on contemporary platform capitalism, more specifically on how even 'doing good for free' is these days commodified and depoliticised with the main aim to create more big data. I actually have played a Facebook game for this…Read more New paper: Popular Philanthrocapitalism? The Potential and Pitfalls of Online Empowerment in “Free” Nature 2.0 Initiatives
New blog post: Branding indigenous peoples in tourism and beyond
A new blog post about indigenous peoples and how they respond to branding in our contemporary society, with a special focus on tourism. Enjoy!
Branding indigenous peoples in tourism and beyond
Throughout the years, much has been written about the image of ‘indigenous’[1] peoples as ‘authentic’ people of nature (Garland and Gordon 1999, Carrier and West 2004, Comaroff and Comaroff 2009, Koot 2017a, Hüncke and Koot 2012, Gordon and Douglas 2000, Fennell 2008, Sylvain 2014, Butler and Hinch 2007, Carr, Ruhanen and Whitford 2016). This image…Read more Branding indigenous peoples in tourism and beyond
New blog post: Land matters in contemporary southern Africa
I have written this blog post together with Catie Gressier and Robert Hitchcock. It is based on our recent (part) special issue in the Journal of Southern African Studies 42(2), about Belonging, Indigeneity, Land and Nature in Southern Africa under Neoliberal Capitalism. A good read for the summer holidays!
Land matters in contemporary southern Africa
Authors: Stasja Koot, Catie Gressier and Robert Hitchcock A series of recent events in southern Africa reveal that the land question—and especially that related to land reform—is a long way from being resolved. There are currently no indications that these issues will be addressed quickly or efficiently. Land reform is at the top of the…Read more Land matters in contemporary southern Africa
