Tricky Violence : Vigilantism as a Moral Experiment in Urban Burkina Faso

Abstract

Abstract: en Most research on vigilantism in the social sciences assumes that vigilante groups in Africa operate on the basis of a homogenous moral order. Based on a rare opportunity to conduct ethnographic fieldwork with Koglweogo vigilante groups in urban Burkina Faso, I argue instead that vigilantism is an experimental moral project that struggles with the question of how to exercise violence in a “good” way. Drawing on recent debates in moral anthropology, I investigate the personal dilemmas and moral conflicts that emerge among Koglweogo members, as well as the transformative potential of their violent interventions. This in-depth look at the ordinary moral practices of vigilantes reveals that the morality of vigilante violence is contingent and highly negotiated, and this perspective complicates our understanding of violence where it appears to be collective.

Keywords: Conflict; Crime; Kinship; Morality; Punishment; vigilantism; Violence

Title: Tricky Violence : Vigilantism as a Moral Experiment in Urban Burkina Faso
Publication type: Article
Language: English
Journal: Conflict and Society
Year: 2024
volume: 10
Page start: 82
Page end: 96
Status: Peer reviewed