Teaching & learning guide for: The crisis of the postcolonial nation-state and the emergence of alternative forms of statehood in the Horn of Africa

Abstract

1 AUTHOR'S INTRODUCTION

The African postcolonial state is in crisis, and it has been for a while. The sources and forms of this crisis are multiple in nature. My focus on this article is on the political aspects of this crisis. The idea of the African postcolonial state became a reality when the majority of former colonies in Africa gained independence from European colonial rule. What these former colonies inherited was not entirely clear at the time. What was evident was that they had to mould themselves into the model of the dominant European nation-state in order to gain recognition and acceptance as sovereign states. However, it soon became clear that the construction of a postcolonial state and nation in Africa would present the newly independent polities with serious challenges. These have congealed over the past half-century to result in the various crises that dominate the organisation of political community in Africa. These challenges take uniquely distinct forms in the Horn of Africa. In this region articulations and imaginations of the state and nation are highly contested in the Horn of Africa and are often marked by violence. These contestations have led to the emergence of what appear to be alternative forms of statehood. The various polities in the region are challenging the nation-state model and are simultaneously attempting to find alternatives to this foreign model. These processes are unique to this region of Africa and are worth analysing and thinking through in terms of what they could potentially mean for the future of the nation-state in Africa.