National Identity and State Formation in Africa. Группа авторов

This dominant nineteenth-century personage embodies in one person the contradictory roles of imperialist and makwerekwere/Uitlander, of outsider and insider, of settler and native, thereby illustrating the interchangeability of these positions, but also the underlying ability of mobility which they all share. What was not interchangeable for Rhodes was his whiteness and his superiority, something that resonates with present-day populism across Europe and in the United States under President Donald Trump.

      At the same time, mobility is ambiguous. It can imply freedom of movement and thought, but it can also be used to invade, conquer and possess. It fuels social mobility – either ‘upwards’ into the middle class or as ‘whitening up’, or to retreat into right-wing movements or fundamentalism of all kinds.

      But mobility is not restricted to movement within existing social categories or frameworks. For Nyamnjoh its real significance lies in its ability to cross borders and to rupture the restrictive frameworks of the status quo – be it the frameworks of identities or of state formations. Nonetheless, rupture is not a goal in itself, but rather the first step towards repair. Hence his plea for conviviality as a necessary precondition for the processes of social renewal, reconstruction and regeneration – and even for a new kind of scholarship for African universities.

      Finally, what kind of African citizenship is emerging out of the present turmoil on the continent? Against the background of these ‘visible and invisible mobilities’, Nyamnjoh (p. 11 below) pursues specific questions:

How do ideas and practices of mobility evolve, in a world of border protections and exclusionary practices? How do convivial forms of interaction counter such trends? How do they bond fictional insiders and perceived outsiders? How are race, citizenship and belonging constructed, deconstructed and reconstructed across the fluid yet sometimes oppressive frontiers that link ‘nation-states’? What can we all learn from the twenty-first-century nimble-footedness of humans, things and ideas? How do students of society make scholarship more convivial by factoring in human mobility as the norm in being human? How do ethnographers such as myself and my students (and some of you) decolonize the alienating tendencies that lead to the objectification of the people with whom we study by denying them the very essence of being – mobility?

      Nyamnjoh’s analysis provides the framework for the subsequent chapters, arranged in two parts: The first (chapters 3–6) focuses on more ‘conventional’ strategies and responses to the aspirations of national identities, such as attempts at federalism, secession or accommodation within a unitary state. These case studies are drawn from across a geographical and political multiplicity of contexts including Nigeria, the Cameroons, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. To maximize the comparative potential of this collection, the second part (chapters 7–10) then inverts this analytical logic to focus on new emerging articulations and ‘unconventional’ strategies within the same geopolitical space, namely the Republic of South Africa. Finally, a concluding chapter offers a number of metatheoretical and normative conclusions.

      Eghosa Osaghae evaluates federalism as a strategy to deal with diversity in situations where identity and citizenship is constructed and deconstructed within and across state frontiers – frontiers which in many cases are imposed and artificially devised to create ‘nation-states’. He makes the case that federalism has been far more influential with regard to political developments than the literature suggests. By narrowing federalism to the operation of federal constitutions, the propensities, variety, experience and utility of federalism as a general approach are often disregarded. Osaghae argues that Africa needs more, not less, federalism if it is understood as a heuristic and pragmatic device for managing diversity and holding fragile states together. In contrast to other traditions of federalism, it is largely of a sociological nature in Africa, closely tied to the issues of territoriality, identity and the character of the elite. Especially in the post-independence era, it remains a sociological imperative in the incomplete state-building process where more inclusive, participatory and accountable governance is required and where the capacity of the state to cope with diversity is constantly tested.

Carlson Anyangwe discusses the options of incorporation, secession and independent nationhood as a different set of strategies to deal with the tensions between cultural diversity, inclusion and exclusion, and the legacy of two colonial interventions in a specific region – that of the Southern Cameroons. He approaches identity – a topic that falls primarily within the disciplines of anthropology and sociology – from a legal perspective and focuses on the interface between identity and the law. The dispute between the Republic of Cameroon and the Southern Cameroons is not only territorial, but also an identity- and resource-based conflict. The chapter further investigates state formation and international law with particular reference to national identity. A final section deals with the distinct identity of the former United Nations trust territory of the British Southern Cameroons in its claim to, and epic struggle for, sovereign statehood.

      Bahru Zewde pursues the topic of secession in a different setting. His entry point is the remarkable events in the Horn of Africa in 2018, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ushered in a new era by ending the long stalemate of ‘no war no peace’ between Eritrea and Ethiopia. His analysis makes clear that mobility is already operative on the most basic level of identity formation and that this has consequences on the higher level of state formation. Identity itself is a site of mobility and fluidity, demonstrating its mediating potential. Yet this bridging capacity is seldom utilized. Zewde therefore maintains that the root of the problem is the accentuation of mono-identities by Ethiopia’s elites and the consequent failure to accommodate multiple identities. The reality on the ground is that both Ethiopia and Eritrea are composed of a mosaic of different nationalities and regions. The same ambiguity is visible at state level where Eritrea cherishes its hard-won independence but also wants to enjoy the maximum benefit from the interdependence with Ethiopia. The attitude of Eritrea towards Ethiopia is thus one of both attraction and repulsion. This ambivalent stance has its roots in Italian colonization and Eritrea’s hard-fought struggle for independence.

Samson Wassara provides a counter-example where the mobility of identity and national diversity do not result in convergence and nation-building, but in fragmentation. He traces the historical developments and social dynamics that led to the fragmentation of national identity in Sudan. While colonial powers played a role, external forces also contributed to the process. He argues that the impact of Arabism and Islam led to anxiety among non-Arab nationalities and to the construction of regional and ethnic identities as a measure of protection, leading eventually to the secession of South Sudan from Sudan. However, the identity of the South Sudanese was constructed on the weak foundation of geographical belonging and of resistance to a common enemy and oppressor. When South Sudan gained its independence in 2011, this common enemy left the scene and citizens reverted back to their tribal affiliations and former colonial regions, resulting in the current crisis of identity and state formation.

      The second part of the book approaches this crisis from a different angle, focusing on South Africa. What may appear to be an overconcentration on one country is intended as an exploration of generic trends in more depth and detail in a specific region, illustrating the intricacies and often contradictory sub-currents, the practical outcomes and their conceptual and theoretical implications. Similar concentrated studies of other countries or regions would be as valuable. Although the local context, its history, circumstances and power relations might be totally different, the same global forces are at work and the same generic challenges have to be faced.

      The four chapters on South Africa illustrate the emergence of novel state formations and alternative expressions of loyalty to the state. Some of these strategies exhibit a remarkable degree of inventiveness and ‘nimble-footedness’, making effective use of the resources provided by global networks. Despite their location in the same political space, these case studies illustrate a diversity of approaches and difference in logic which motivates the choices in each specific strategy or by specific social actors.

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