Nationhood and Statehood: The Impact of a Conflated Discourse on African Polities and Their Non-Dominant Ethnic Groups

Authors

  • Reginald M.J. Oduor University of Dar es Salaam

Abstract

It is now conventional to refer to post-colonial African polities as ' nations ' or ' nation-states ' . However, in this article I argue that the conflation of nationhood and statehood has led to the violation of the rights of non-dominant ethnic groups to meaningful political participation, equitable economic opportunities, ethnic identity, and secession. Thus this conflation leads to an on-going lack of legitimacy in postcolonial African states, thereby exposing them to perpetual neocolonial domination.

 

Key words: nation, state, nation-state, ethnicity, neocolonialism

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Published

2019-02-07