Citizenship as "Social Figuration”: Cuba and Colombia at the Dawn of a New Caribbean

Norbert Elias’ theory of social figurations —the centerpiece of his process sociology paradigm— can potentially shed light on the history of citizenship in Cuba and Colombia at the beginning of the nineteenth century. As the Cuban economic landscape was transformed by the “second slavery”, the presence of Colombians on the island sparked fears of republican and abolitionist conspiracy among local authorities. The name of one of the Masonic lodges acting in Puerto Principe in 1823 highlights the island’s freethinkers ties with Colombia: the Cadena Triangular de Bolívar. Individuals belonging to this secret society were thrown in jail. They declared their connections with Colombians and Colombian ideology. In their depositions they left evidence on their thinking about citizenship as tool of revolution, a form of political belonging in connection with an unfolding process rather than an ideal goal or future stage of political development. This presentation will evaluate this evidence in light of process sociology theory, ultimately arguing that citizenship might have been not just an end but a means. I will suggest that in order to more fully understand the political culture of revolutionary Caribbean societies we must detach ourselves from our political paradigms and restore our objects of study their own autonomy.