Nation-building in Post-colonial Sub-Saharan African states: Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda compared

Occupation: Vice-Director for Research, Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Affiliation: Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow

Journal name

Asia and Africa Today

Edition

Issue 1

Pages

15-23

Abstract

In the form the nation-state is known until now, it formed in Europe and North America in the Early Modern time and flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, being adequate to realities of the world of industrial capitalism and cultural nationalism. However, other trends, related to super-intensive globalization and post-industrialism, are dominating in the world nowadays. At present, the Western states have to depart from the classical concept of the nation and seek solutions to a completely different problem - of supporting their citizens’ unity at preservation of cultural diversity brought by migrants from all over the world in recent decades. Under the current circumstances, it should not be ruled out that post-colonial states, most of which are multicultural initially due to their unique history of formation, can find themselves in an advantageous position, if they abandon attempts to build nations according to the outdated classical Western pattern. While irreversible globalization is associated with Modernity started in the West half a millennium ago, nation-building in contemporary post-colonial countries shows that globalization is by no means equal to Westernization, and that Modernity as a historically specific type of society and culture, splits into multiple modernities.

The theoretical analysis is proved by comparison of the evidence from three post-colonial African states: Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda. Although today, Tanzania is closer than Zambia and Uganda (as well as most other African countries) to formation of the nation in the classical Western sense, the author admits that the global trend towards multiculturalization of nations may become no less advantageous for countries like Zambia and Uganda. However, it is emphasized in the paper that proper leadership based on an ideology of multicultural nation is a necessary prerequisite for realization of these favorable conditions.

Keywords

post-colonial state, nation-building, historical and cultural factors, multiculturality, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda

Acknowledgment

The research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant № 18-18-00454, https://rscf.ru/en/project/ 22-28-00734/

Received

12.10.2021

Publication date

28.01.2022

Number of characters

33953

Cite

GOST	Bondarenko D. Nation-building in Post-colonial Sub-Saharan African states: Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda compared // Asia and Africa Today – 2022. – Issue 1 C. 15-23 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://asaf-today.ru/S032150750018295-6-1 (circulation date: 17.05.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750018295-6
MLA	Bondarenko, Dmitri "Nation-building in Post-colonial Sub-Saharan African states: Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda compared." Asia and Africa Today 1 (2022):15-23. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750018295-6
APA	Bondarenko D. (2022). Nation-building in Post-colonial Sub-Saharan African states: Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda compared. Asia and Africa Today (1), pp.15-23 DOI: 10.31857/S032150750018295-6

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