Home Cultural Studies Four. The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa
Chapter
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Four. The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa

View more publications by Princeton University Press
To Publisher Page
States and Power in Africa
This chapter is in the book States and Power in Africa
FourThe Political Kingdom inIndependent AfricaThe new nations of the African continent areemerging today as the result of their struggle forindependence. This struggle for freedom fromforeign domination is a patriotic one whichnecessarily leaves no room for difference.Julius K. Nyerere, “The African and Democracy,”AFTERGAININGINDEPENDENCE in the early 1960s, African leaders werefaced with an exquisite dilemma. They recognized that the states thatemerged from Berlin were artificial and did not, in many cases, actuallyrule their putative nations other than through the use of exceptional vio-lence. Yet, if the states, with their colonial power gradients, were tochange, the new leaders would have to give up many of the newly tastedbenefits of power and face considerable uncertainty about their own fateand the fate of their nations. In a rare instance of not muddling throughon a question of monumental importance, the Africans decided early anddecisively that the colonial map should be retained.As a result, postindependence African leaders were faced with theproblem of how to extend power over their territories given the incom-plete and highly variable administrative systems they inherited from theEuropeans. Following their colonial predecessors, the new leaders de-cided against gaining control of African territory through wars of expan-sion or by claiming control of territory on the basis of the administrativefacts on the ground. At the same time, despite much rhetoric about re-covering the African past, the new leaders rejected the entire precolonialtradition of multiple sovereignties over land with soft borders. Instead,Africa’s leaders devised a set of domestic and international strategies that,much as during the colonial rule, gave maximum flexibility to the leaderswhen deciding how to expand the actual geographic reach of the statewhile formally preventing any outside challenge to their territorial con-trol. Therefore, the particular international system and domestic institu-tions that African countries erected have had profound effects on theability of the state to consolidate authority, either by collecting taxes or

FourThe Political Kingdom inIndependent AfricaThe new nations of the African continent areemerging today as the result of their struggle forindependence. This struggle for freedom fromforeign domination is a patriotic one whichnecessarily leaves no room for difference.Julius K. Nyerere, “The African and Democracy,”AFTERGAININGINDEPENDENCE in the early 1960s, African leaders werefaced with an exquisite dilemma. They recognized that the states thatemerged from Berlin were artificial and did not, in many cases, actuallyrule their putative nations other than through the use of exceptional vio-lence. Yet, if the states, with their colonial power gradients, were tochange, the new leaders would have to give up many of the newly tastedbenefits of power and face considerable uncertainty about their own fateand the fate of their nations. In a rare instance of not muddling throughon a question of monumental importance, the Africans decided early anddecisively that the colonial map should be retained.As a result, postindependence African leaders were faced with theproblem of how to extend power over their territories given the incom-plete and highly variable administrative systems they inherited from theEuropeans. Following their colonial predecessors, the new leaders de-cided against gaining control of African territory through wars of expan-sion or by claiming control of territory on the basis of the administrativefacts on the ground. At the same time, despite much rhetoric about re-covering the African past, the new leaders rejected the entire precolonialtradition of multiple sovereignties over land with soft borders. Instead,Africa’s leaders devised a set of domestic and international strategies that,much as during the colonial rule, gave maximum flexibility to the leaderswhen deciding how to expand the actual geographic reach of the statewhile formally preventing any outside challenge to their territorial con-trol. Therefore, the particular international system and domestic institu-tions that African countries erected have had profound effects on theability of the state to consolidate authority, either by collecting taxes or

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Illustrations ix
  4. Preface to the New Paperback Edition xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part One. THE CHALLENGE OF STATE-BUILDING IN AFRICA
  7. One. The Challenge of State-Building in Africa 11
  8. Part Two. THE CONSTRUCTION OF STATES IN AFRICA
  9. Two. Power and Space in Precolonial Africa 35
  10. Three. The Europeans and the African Problem 58
  11. Four. The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa 97
  12. Part Three. NATIONAL DESIGN AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
  13. Five. National Design and the Broadcasting of Power 139
  14. Six. Chiefs, States, and the Land 173
  15. Part Four. BOUNDARIES AND POWER
  16. Seven. The Coin of the African Realm 201
  17. Eight. The Politics of Migration and Citizenship 227
  18. Part Five. CONCLUSION
  19. Nine. The Past and the Future of State Power in Africa Revised for the New Paperback Edition 251
  20. Index 273
Readers are also interested in:
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400852321-007

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents vii
  3. List of Illustrations ix
  4. Preface to the New Paperback Edition xi
  5. Introduction 1
  6. Part One. THE CHALLENGE OF STATE-BUILDING IN AFRICA
  7. One. The Challenge of State-Building in Africa 11
  8. Part Two. THE CONSTRUCTION OF STATES IN AFRICA
  9. Two. Power and Space in Precolonial Africa 35
  10. Three. The Europeans and the African Problem 58
  11. Four. The Political Kingdom in Independent Africa 97
  12. Part Three. NATIONAL DESIGN AND DOMESTIC POLITICS
  13. Five. National Design and the Broadcasting of Power 139
  14. Six. Chiefs, States, and the Land 173
  15. Part Four. BOUNDARIES AND POWER
  16. Seven. The Coin of the African Realm 201
  17. Eight. The Politics of Migration and Citizenship 227
  18. Part Five. CONCLUSION
  19. Nine. The Past and the Future of State Power in Africa Revised for the New Paperback Edition 251
  20. Index 273
Sign up now to receive a 20% welcome discount
Institutional Access
How does access work?
Have an idea on how to improve our website?
Please write us.
© 2025 De Gruyter Brill
Downloaded on 21.9.2025 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781400852321-007/html?lang=en&srsltid=AfmBOoodXyk2rgdETXCTcjBKvS3k2LVQQJcKUXqcWGURQpeTVTL9L9aI
Scroll to top button