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The Rise of Africa’s Middle Class: Myths, Realities and Critical Engagements ed. by Melber, Henning (review)

In The Rise of Africa’s Middle Class: Myths, Realities and Critical Engagements, Henning Melber and his contributors challenge the discourse of the Africa-rising narrative, which has been present in the scholarly literature for nearly a decade now. The book questions two linked topics: the validity of the middle-class label in African contexts and the role of the so-called middle class in democratic transitions. Nearly all its contributors provide a muchneeded critique of the purely financial thresholds that have been applied to define the middle class in Africa, most often ranging from income of $2 to $20 per day. The broad range of the category and the absence of other indicators usually present in class analyses—such as social status, profession, lifestyle, and cultural norms—drain the label of its analytical capacity: the term middle class “is rather used in an inflationary manner to cover almost everything without any further internal differentiations that exist within a very broad band of income groups, thereby signifying little to nothing” (p. 2). Additionally, through literature reviews and field studies, the authors remain rather skeptical about the actions of the middle classes that would foster democracy in their home countries. This book is framed by introductory and concluding remarks by its editor. The next five chapters reflect more theoretically on different aspects of the middle class; the first three focus on Africa as whole, and the latter two are tied to more specific case studies. Finally, the last five chapters are case studies of middle-class phenomena in particular countries. Henning Melber critiques the recent discussion, led mainly by economists, which contrasts the euphoria of a rising Africa with rising income inequality. He thinks the concept of the middle class is still worth exploring, despite the conceptual challenges, but he calls for “proper” class analysis and the abandonment of a purely economic approach by looking at “empirical socio-economic and cultural realities and the degree and forms of political interaction and awareness within and among different segments of society” (p. 206). Carola Lentz shows how, with the end of colonialism, elite studies have become common within African studies, and how they have lately evolved into a study of middle classes. Her literature analysis thus becomes a starting point from which to become familiar with the themes that define the middle class: education, income sources, family relations, consumption,