“Bottleneck is a joy to read and a sophisticated ethnography. Melly’s examination of globalization situates Dakar and Senegal at the crossroads of long-standing relations of migration and mobility. She examines the implications of the well known Muriddiya from a completely fresh perspective, working within Senegal’s national development administration in order to grasp movement and mobility at a range of levels—as a national value, a total social fact, and a material condition. Melly’s ability to wed these perspectives makes for a unique contribution to our understanding of these processes. This book is a significant accomplishment.”

Brad Weiss, author of Street Dreams and Hip Hop Barbershops

“Using the phenomenon of embouteillages—or bottlenecks—as a literal and metaphorical entry point, Melly shows how overlapping circuitries of movement and the blockages that impede them are central to political-economic and cultural processes in this African city. She combines rich ethnography with innovative theorizing to produce superb scholarship in anthropology and African studies, and contributes significantly to understanding a range of intersecting issues including statecraft, development, urbanization, migration, gender, and an emerging anthropology of infrastructure.”

Daniel Jordan Smith, author of To Be a Man Is Not a One-Day Job