COLONIAL LEGACY IN AFRICA

What does “heritage” mean?

Heritage Characteristics and traits that are passed down from one generation to the next Political heritage: ways of practicing politics, political attitudes, and political institutions that are passed down – in this case from the colonizers to the colonized

Scramble for Africa 50+ colonies created that had no previous history as political kingdoms New country created with different ethnic groups who had been separate political entities before colonization

Colonial Political Heritage State/Government Capacity Ethnicity and Social Pluralism Human Rights and Democratic Practice (tomorrow)

Political Capacity The ability to carry out the tasks and functions that governments are supposed to do. What are some of the main tasks of government?

Government Protection, security, and basin human rights/needs Economic infrastructure Help stimulate economic growth Provide basic social services What does the government need to be able to fulfill its role?

What does the government need? Institutions Organizations that have specific functions in a society Example: schools, military, police force Skilled and dedicated bureaucrats Governmental Institutions = Bureaucracies People who work for the government = Bureaucrats Revenue

Colonial Governments Capable of: Maintaining law and order Controlling population through violence Forcing farmers to grow certain crops Forcing laborers to leave home and work on distant farms or mines NOT capable of: Meeting basic functions and needs of people Providing basic education and health care Promoting economic specialization and diversification Collecting sufficient revenues from the people

“Gatekeeper State” “Africa was systematically conquered but not so systematically ruled” (Cooper, p ) Colonial states controlled the “interface of national and world economies” but not the people or their respect Authority depends almost entirely on military force of the metropole (center) Can easily defeat organized resistance Cannot routinize authority nor gain legitimacy

“Gatekeeper State” Governments had weak roots in the African countries that were barely under their control – could not govern the social or cultural realms of their subjects Government is oriented toward “guarding the gate” – collecting revenue from taxes on imports and exports, controlling entry and exit visas, distributing foreign aid, and issuing licenses to engage in business activities

Successor States Inherited these “gatekeeper” states No longer external military force to impose order Whoever gained control of the state gained control of resources they could use to entrench their rule – fierce competition for “control of the gate” Result: political instability and personal power politics

Ethnicity and Social Pluralism What is “tribalism”? What is a “tribe”?

Tribalism Europeans considered “tribes” as less modern than European social and political organization Belief that societies were “tribal” led colonizers to create ethnic social organizations to help navigate colonial politics Colonial administrators relied on “traditional leaders” to help them govern internally – often exacerbating (or completely creating) internal conflicts between different ethnic groups

Why did this approach not work? At the beginning, colonizers had to use force to establish control and they defeated and disrupted/destroyed local systems of government Traditional leaders who helped govern were often seen as “collaborators” and traitors In areas with traditionally stateless societies colonizers had to create “traditional” leaders and institutions where none existed

Types of Colonial Rule Direct Rule Colonial officials present throughout the colonies France, Belgium, Germany Indirect Rule Depended on “traditional” leaders to govern local areas Great Britain Settler Rule European settlers living in Africa ruled, often brutally Dutch, British, and Portuguese in Southern Africa