Crystallising contention: social movements, protests and riots in African Studies

This article critically reviews the recent debate on social movements and protests in African Studies. It problematises prevailing conceptualisations, addresses the methodological difficulties of data gathering and scrutinises theoretical references in contemporary scholarship. As an alternative to established approaches and based on fieldwork in Conakry and Kampala, the author suggests capturing the dynamic nature of protest movements through the concept of crystallisation. Inspired by philosopher Gilbert Simondon, the crystallisation concept grasps protests as processes emerging from everyday urban politics and reflexively considers the researcher as part of the phenomena he or she describes.