Port infrastructures and the making of historical time in the Horn of Africa: Narratives of urban modernity in Djibouti and Somaliland

Abstract

As infrastructures mushroom across Africa, this article investigates narratives accompanying infrastructural investments in East African cities, Djibouti-city (Djibouti) and Berbera (Somaliland). While cities in the Global North move towards a post-industrial future, the Horn of Africa depicts other endpoints, breaking with experiences of colonisation while hoping to diminish asymmetries in a Western-dominated global system. Inspired by models that condense idealized experiences of urban success elsewhere, Djibouti and Somaliland rework historical narratives while envisioning their future as urban nodes interlinking different places and cultures. We build on Koselleck's theory of historical time and link it to notions of ‘elsewhere’ to show how different actors rework past experiences and future expectations through port modernizations. On the one hand, port operators and logistics companies use city labels and propagate developmental trajectories that assimilate East African cities to Dubai or Shekou models. On the other hand, political elites and city residents search in these projects for their own path, creatively combining elements of similarity and distinctiveness while developing the city's specific brand. Through qualitative interviews substantiated with secondary sources, this article shows how infrastructure becomes a driver of identity promoting spatial imaginaries, re-invigorating (shared) memories, and formulating aspirations drawing on different times and places.