LECTURE 8: ethnicity in African
politics
Created @November 14, 2022 3:20 PM
Class politics: africa
Type Lecture
General remarks and feedback for exam
lacked in content → wrote a lot of theory, but not enough examples
make the writing more continuous, each paragraph starting with “firstly, secondly,
thirdly, etc.”
News of the week → Operation Barkhane ends in Sahel. 5500 French soldiers withdrawn
from Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania
UNDERSTANDING ETHNICITY AND
IDENTITY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
sometimes we confuse ethnicity with identity
not unique to Africa
WW1, Slavs of Eastern Europe suffered → thus after WW1, they created
Yugoslavia, a country for them
invention of ethnicity and identity cuts across the entire human race
conceptualising ethnicity in Africa
one of the greatest challenges facing post-colonial Africa is the task of nation building
African states are made up of multiple ethnicities
the task is to bring them together and think as one, to become one nation
LECTURE 8: ethnicity in African politics 1
, efforts of post-colonial African leaders have laboured in vain
some schools of thought think ethnicity is a European invention, but it was there
before colonisation too. The problem is that colonialism reinforced their differences.
pitting ethnic groups against each other
most states in Africa are multinational and multiracial in nature
central element of our identities is, our ethnicity
while it may seem like something we are born with, the way we choose and express
our ethnicity is also, a choice
identity goes with a birth right, tells us who we are based on where we were
born
ethnicity and identity seem to be inseparable
identity is a sociological concept,
very fluid, it is constructed
what aspect of your ethnicity goes first?
how do you express that ethnicity?
what differences does it make to how you see yourself and how you operate in the
world?
identity
identity is a matter of distinction as either an individual or a group
as a group it illustrates the standard of personhood and normalcy
what makes you different from the other group
cultural attributes like distinctive beliefs, institutions, practices, religion and language
often form the bases of identity
to consolidate such an identity, members of an ethnic group must share ideas, behaviour
patterns, feelings and meaning. they should distinguish themselves from others
we v/s them
ethnicity is a group dynamic
it’s informed by historical, geographic and biological conditions that play out in a
variety of complex ways
LECTURE 8: ethnicity in African politics 2
politics
Created @November 14, 2022 3:20 PM
Class politics: africa
Type Lecture
General remarks and feedback for exam
lacked in content → wrote a lot of theory, but not enough examples
make the writing more continuous, each paragraph starting with “firstly, secondly,
thirdly, etc.”
News of the week → Operation Barkhane ends in Sahel. 5500 French soldiers withdrawn
from Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania
UNDERSTANDING ETHNICITY AND
IDENTITY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
sometimes we confuse ethnicity with identity
not unique to Africa
WW1, Slavs of Eastern Europe suffered → thus after WW1, they created
Yugoslavia, a country for them
invention of ethnicity and identity cuts across the entire human race
conceptualising ethnicity in Africa
one of the greatest challenges facing post-colonial Africa is the task of nation building
African states are made up of multiple ethnicities
the task is to bring them together and think as one, to become one nation
LECTURE 8: ethnicity in African politics 1
, efforts of post-colonial African leaders have laboured in vain
some schools of thought think ethnicity is a European invention, but it was there
before colonisation too. The problem is that colonialism reinforced their differences.
pitting ethnic groups against each other
most states in Africa are multinational and multiracial in nature
central element of our identities is, our ethnicity
while it may seem like something we are born with, the way we choose and express
our ethnicity is also, a choice
identity goes with a birth right, tells us who we are based on where we were
born
ethnicity and identity seem to be inseparable
identity is a sociological concept,
very fluid, it is constructed
what aspect of your ethnicity goes first?
how do you express that ethnicity?
what differences does it make to how you see yourself and how you operate in the
world?
identity
identity is a matter of distinction as either an individual or a group
as a group it illustrates the standard of personhood and normalcy
what makes you different from the other group
cultural attributes like distinctive beliefs, institutions, practices, religion and language
often form the bases of identity
to consolidate such an identity, members of an ethnic group must share ideas, behaviour
patterns, feelings and meaning. they should distinguish themselves from others
we v/s them
ethnicity is a group dynamic
it’s informed by historical, geographic and biological conditions that play out in a
variety of complex ways
LECTURE 8: ethnicity in African politics 2
