Description
Smugglers, Speculators, and the City in the Ethiopia-Somalia Borderlands offers an in-depth ethnographic analysis of informal economic activities in the Horn of Africa. Daniel K. Thompson investigates the complex networks of traders, smugglers, and speculators who operate across the porous Ethiopia-Somalia border, revealing how these actors navigate state regulation, security concerns, and market fluctuations.
The book examines how borderland commerce creates urban spaces, shapes social relationships, and generates wealth despite—and often because of—political instability and weak state institutions. Thompson provides nuanced insights into the everyday practices of merchants and traders, demonstrating how informal economies are not peripheral to African development but central to understanding contemporary urbanism and economic life in the region.
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