The onset of the 2014 global oil crisis brought stagnation to Angola after a decade of rapid expansion. The article investigates the temporalities emerging in this transitionary phase from fast growth to stagnation, focusing, in particular, on West African traders operating in the import sector. While West Africans experienced their businesses as stalling, they also “stalled for time”, actively waiting to see how the crisis would evolve. Comparing and contrasting it with other modes of waiting in Africa, the article highlights stalling for time as a tactic reflecting both the temporal regimes of the capitalist economy and West African migrants’ historical experience of volatility.
Paolo Gaibazzi (2019). Stalling (for Time): Temporalities of Business in the Angolan Oil Crisis. AFRICA, 1(2), 59-74 [10.23744/2276].
Stalling (for Time): Temporalities of Business in the Angolan Oil Crisis
Paolo Gaibazzi
2019
Abstract
The onset of the 2014 global oil crisis brought stagnation to Angola after a decade of rapid expansion. The article investigates the temporalities emerging in this transitionary phase from fast growth to stagnation, focusing, in particular, on West African traders operating in the import sector. While West Africans experienced their businesses as stalling, they also “stalled for time”, actively waiting to see how the crisis would evolve. Comparing and contrasting it with other modes of waiting in Africa, the article highlights stalling for time as a tactic reflecting both the temporal regimes of the capitalist economy and West African migrants’ historical experience of volatility.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
