Theories of state formation in west africa pdf

Articulating theories of states and state formation article pdf available in journal of historical sociology 224. This transformation was conducted through the selection and convergence among these distinct types of authority. In states and power in africa, jeffrey herbst places the african statebuilding process in a truly comparative perspective. Theories of contemporary state formation in africa. From being among the poorest of the poor at independence in 1966, it has. Conflict theories of state formation regard conflict and dominance of some population over another population as key to the formation of states. The precolonial state in west africa was thus viewed largely as a super. In section 2 we examine the nine nationbuilding policies in detail. A study of botswana is crucial in this context since, as is 4. Finally, the article identifies rather intriguing topics for further enquiry. This size was due to the rapid expansion through agriculture. All previous theories of the state have been class. Nov 11, 2008 if this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account.

In west africa, the empires of sudan, ghana, mali, and songhai all flourished. Colonization of africa by west european powers 18501940 3. The waters are further muddied by the genetics of african cattle suggesting an independent strain, but this also has its critics. Toward the end of the first millennium ad, the formation of states began across central chad in the sahelian zone between the desert and the savanna. East africa is widely claimed to be the smallest of the political regions of africa. The history of africa begins with the emergence of hominids, archaic humans andat least 200,000 years agoanatomically modern humans homo sapiens, in east africa, and continues unbroken into the present as a patchwork of diverse and politically developing nation states.

There, the interaction of power and space is dramatically different from what occurred in europe. The process of state formation in precolonial east africa. The state in africa beluce bellucci abstract africa still faces major challenges, particularly with respect to such factors as religions and ethnic groups, among others. A nation state is a state whose primary loyalty is to a cultural selfidentity, which we call a nation or nationality, and is now the predominant form of state organisation.

The state in africa 11 a universal value and repression of the practice of polygamy will not bring about its demise. Approximately 50 percent of the countrys population lives in poverty, unemployment rates are 26. Africa state formation toward the end of the first millennium ad, the formation of states began across central chad in the sahelian zone between the desert and the savanna. Feb 06, 2016 back to the patterns of world history to the colonialism in africa during 18501950 capitalism and slavery 1. Africa before any other humans south africa 2015 long before the people groups from the north and the europeans from the south came to occupy this part of the continent. These are the socalled functionalist theories of the state.

Moreover, in presenting case studies on the african union and nepad, the course content will cover africa as a dynamic region constituting fifty. Everybody is counted and classified as either belonging to a race or belonging to a tribe. This is a short history of africa excluding egypt, ethiopia and dutch and british south africa, which are the subjects of separate histories. Early states and state formation in africa african. After its formation, stephenson 2005 adds that the american state, like so many in contemporary times, faced the prospect of secession and disintegration in 1865, and it took another 100 years for the integration of black and white, north and south, east and west to be achieved stephenson 2005. Analyses of urban africa in relation to world history and the history of the state are suggested as two analytically productive ways for exploring the dynamics of africas urban past while contributing to ongoing debates in urban theory, stateformation analysis, and world history. The rise of city states, city leagues, and territorial states. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise cambridge core to connect with your account. A large number of published studies have examined the subject of social complexity and the means by which it. Apter viewed kwame nkrumah as such a charismatic figure in the preindependence days of the gold coast, and bestowed upon him individual responsibility for the new state of ghana. Advances an explanation of the state formation process, including internal differentiation within communities, the manipulation of religion, the acquisition of economic privilege, social stratification, the application of force, and the eventual formation of an elite. View state and state formation in sub saharan africa research papers on academia. I argue that existence of states in the precolonial period should not be dismissed based on eurocentric ideas about state theory and state formation. In developing this account, we move beyond the state literature.

Some of the history of these countries, however, is naturally mentioned in this history of the rest of africa but is kept to the minimum needed to make the rest comprehensible. But state formation in tropical africa was not simply a reflex of. This page is part of the archives of the phrontistery, but is no longer being updated this is a revised version of a paper originally written in 1995 as part of an honours degree project. The generative factors behind the transformation of late medieval forms of government to new types of authority are discussed in the first section. N37,n47,o55 abstract in this paper we evaluate the impact of colonialism on development in subsaharan africa. Ecology, trade and states in precolonial africa 3 available for these ethnic groups, i am not able to conclusively show that societies that independently developed state centralization did not migrate to capture the regions in. A second set of important theories of state failure have been subject to less scrutiny. The article moves on to a discussion of the process of state. An essay summary summary a state is a territorial political community for which there is an independent organised government. An understanding of the african state requires knowledge of various aspects, at both national and international levels. Thinking about developmental states in africa thandika mkandawire. For example, the increased trade in the 16th century may have been a key to state formation in west african states such as whydah, dahomey, and the benin empire.

Policy in postapartheid south africa, international journal of educa. States and state formation outline princeton university. When early theories of integration were developed there was much discussion in the literature on how to define the concept. In other words, we nd no evidence that nationbuilding policies have prevented civil war in postcolonial africa despite numerous e. Following that, mostly in analyses of west african countries, the notion of. State formation is the process of the development of a centralized government structure in a. He summoned representatives of all the major western powers of. Early states and state formation in africa african studies. Understanding statebuilding from a political economy. The concept and measurement of failed states is not generally helpful in understanding the economic and political realities in subsaharan africa. Even more complex are the religious values which, dominated by individual faith and belief, are easily transferred to other material bases, and thus continue. The fundamental problem confronting all african statebuilders.

Introduction1 the present paper aims to arrive at a set of guidelines that help to study stateformation, state reformation and state deformation processes in the postcolonial states of the arab middle east. The work will be examined under two broad headings. Although concerned with theory, this book is set firmly in an african context. Coercive theories a close examination of history indicates that only a coercive theory can account for the rise of the state. Nov 08, 2017 state formation is the process of the development of a centralized government structure in a. In this paper we use the history and experience of botswana to evaluate such theories of state formation in africa. War parts of east and west africa served as important theaters of war, while north africa was a crucial combat zone during both wars. It includes subject matter from the inland niger delta, cameroon, the kalahari, uganda, and central africa as well as discussions of the segmentary state, the evolutionary mapping of african societies, invisible african towns, and other topics. Force, and not enlightened selfinterest, is the mechanism by which political evolution has led, step by step, from autonomous villages to the state. Appolonia from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century valsecchi, p. I do not intend to provide concrete solutions in a masters thesis. In section 2, i describe my sources of data, how i measure state centralization, and how i compute ecological diversity for each society.

State formation in africa 337 of the state, but as the embodiment of a social movement at its base. After the 0s, the feudal system, a centralized empire, and theocracy waned. In theories of contemporary state formation in africa. Pdf state formation in precolonial subsaharan africa. After he left nigeria lugard described his theory of indirect rule in a book.

Political violence and state formation in postcolonial africa. Broadly speaking, theories of practice seek to explain the relationships. Third, it is difficult to conceive that nomads, who themselves lived only at the margins of particular states, were the carriers of the idea of the state. States cannot be defined by their ends, but by the means which they use to achieve some open set of ends. It was for instance discussed whether integration refers to a process or to. Ecology, trade and states in precolonial africa james fenskey abstract. State and state formation in sub saharan africa research. European and african state formation illustrate that using western definitions. After its formation, stephenson 2005 adds that the american state, like so many in contemporary times, faced the prospect of secession and disintegration in 1865, and it took another 100 years for the integration of black and white, north and south, east. The ultimate emphasis of apters analysis became nkrumahs failure. Colonialism and economic development in africa leander heldring and james a. The second is the impacts of colonialism in africa. Much of the social contract philosophical tradition proposed a voluntary theory for state formation.

Theories on the origin of the hausa states current. I test bates view that trade across ecological divides promoted the develop ment of states in precolonial africa. A period of stateownership, economic growth and hope in 1957, ghana under the leadership of kwame nkrumah, led the way and mobilised the people to free africa from imperialist greed. Appolonia from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century this study looks at the political and social history of the gold coast in west africa from the early 16th century to the second half of the 18th. This article provides a short account of european state formation. Rather, scholars turned to the core areas of pristine state formation. As you read the census, the distinction becomes clearer. Back to the patterns of world history to the colonialism in africa during 18501950 capitalism and slavery 1. Based on the analysis of this paper, which understands state formation and statebuilding as longterm, tumultuous and conflictridden processes that are also deeply political, we draw the following insights, lessons and recommendations.

Purposive state action, most notably in the form of unilateral tariff reductions, the establishment. Polygamy will only be abolished when its material bases no longer exist. An overview of the debate on the african state global affairs. With the general drying of the sahara around 5000 bp, herders and their cattle and small stock moved south with the tsetse belts into west and east africa, and by 2000 bp had reached southern africa.

Development of early farming and pastoralism african. This paper represents an attempt to study african history on its own terms. Developmental state in africa united nations university. Akosua perbi fulbrightscholar in residence manchester college indiana, u. Slavery and the slave trade in precolonial africa by dr. Nor is the growing global hegemony of the nationstate model a good predictor of individual instances of nationstate formation, as meyers world polity theory would suggest. In southern africa, great zimbabwe emerged as the most. In the world context, colonialism had very heterogeneous effects, operating through many.

Second, the particular structures of west african kingdoms cannot be shown to be similar to those of ancient egypt. Pdf some historical sociologists have, with some justification, described the development of the. World civilizations and history of human development african civilizations. The first is the reasons for colonization of africa and the strategies used to achieve the colonial objectives.

Ibn khaldun, cyclical theory and the rise and fall of. The understanding of state formation in africa depends on the analysis of attempts by africans to build political institutions which suit their needs in an era when they have been faced with many constraints. In absolute geographic terms it covers an area of 1,763,769 sq. One remarkable feature of the discourse on the state and development in africa is the disjuncture between an analytical tradition that insists on the impossibility of developmental states in africa and a prescriptive literature that presupposes their existence. I show that the relationship between states and ecology is robust to measures of access to the transatlantic slave trade. Nevertheless, the state is a phenomenon common to all history, and its essential nature can only be made plain by a broad and comprehensive study of universal history. Theories of learning and teaching what do they mean for educators. Those moderns in the southern parts of africa south of the zambezi valley were called the original san huntergatherer groups adhikari 2010.

Peterson northwestern university july 2006 working paper best practices nea research. Theories of state formation have two distinct focuses, depending largely on the. Of these states, the best known, from west to east, were takrur in the senegal valley. Early states and state formation in africa african studies oxford. Akosua perbi fulbrightscholarinresidence manchester college indiana, u.

Immediately after independence, the development strategies in africa had one goal human development. Today, east africa comprises the countries of kenya, tanzania tanganyika and zambia, uganda and to a large extent burundi, rwanda, and northern mozambique. Oct 18, 2010 nevertheless, the state is a phenomenon common to all history, and its essential nature can only be made plain by a broad and comprehensive study of universal history. In the remainder of this paper, i proceed as follows. Precolonial subsaharan african state formation explained 1. Except in the field of sociology, the kings highway of science, no treatment of the state has heretofore taken this path. From the precolonial to the modern day toyin falola and tyler fleming encyclopedia of life support systems eolss people have lived in africa for more than three million years, and thus it possesses a rich and varied history. Pdf articulating theories of states and state formation. Appolonia from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. One of the most prominent theories of early and primary state formation is the hydraulic hypothesis, which contends that the state was a result of the need to build and maintain largescale irrigation projects.