Müller, Carsten
Research Interests:
Uganda, Kenya, D.R. Congo
Geographical Area:
Mobility, Political Mobilization, Elections
Current Project:
Moving towards Power? Mobilities within Political Mobilization in Uganda, Kenya and Eastern DRC
Political mobilization is a key element of winning elections in our increasingly mobile world. Thereby, the term political mobilization already suggests that mobility is an important aspect of elections, while elections are decisive distribution mechanisms for power. Currently however, there is only limited knowledge on how mobility really affects mobilization. Likewise, the interplay of mobility, mobilization and power during processes of mobilization has received little attention. It is known however that both mobility and mobilization are relevant for the production of political power. Likewise, political power is known to be important for mobility as well as mobilization. If mobility therefore indeed does affect political mobilization, this of course raises questions on how it does so and which consequences high or low mobility has for gaining political power.
In an attempt to bridge the gap, this project aims at investigating the role of mobility within the political mobilization for elections in Uganda, Kenya and Eastern Congo. To achieve this its objective will be to identify the potential to be mobile, also called mobility capital, those mobilized for political purposes, and the mobile elements in mobilization techniques. The focus lies on politicized mobile groups like motorcycle taxi drivers. Furthermore, the effects of mobility driven mobilization in elections will be evaluated. Examining these factors allows the evaluation of the role of mobility on power relations in the empirical settings and makes it possible to reflect on how this role influences governmental policies on mobility.
Müller (ehemals Möller), C., & Doevenspeck, M. (2023). The fast and the victorious: Mobility, motorcyclists and political mobilisation in Uganda. Area, 55(3), 399–406. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12872
Müller, Carsten. 2024. “(Un)Leashed Potentials: An Activist-Centered Perspective on the Political Mobilization of Motorcycle Taxi Drivers in Eastern DRC.” Journal of Eastern African Studies, July, 1–22. https://doi:10.1080/17531055.2024.2375078
Further information (CV)