02.03.2015

History Characteristics

- Continuity lines between pre-colonial period to the modern age- European influence on African states but only for 70-80 years to max. 300

years, but life started 2-3 mil. years ago. (small timeframe of colonial influence)

Pre-colonial Africa- Hard to generalize, diverse as the continent itself- 2 types of political organization – stateless societies

- States

Max Webber’s definition of the States

- “The experience of a monopoly on legitimate violence on a specific territory”

- a political institution = a specific set of rules which prescribes expectations

- an idea started by people, people interact with each other based on those rules

Montevideo Convention

The entity of a state if it possesses: – A permanent population– Territory defined– Government– Relations with other states

State= a means of rule over a defined, sovereign territory

For a State to exist there has to be a clearly defined shared set of ideas

State – a concept as meant in only a specific context The meaning – not in the object itself but in the context it’s issued Ex: troll

Alex Thompson

- African States = non-hegemonic states - Pre-colonial African States were not designed to become all powerful

political entities, different to what we call all states: lacking borders, overlapping authorities (different degrees of allegiance to defend forms of power – elders/kings)

- Interaction between these entities

- No scarcity of territory (no centralization needed like in Europe)- Wars for loot: slaves, cattle, gold, robbing – not that brutal

Stateless Societies

- in Central and South Africa (low density of population, lack of economic surplus)

- don’t need a state in order to have rules, orders, social interaction- developed hierarchical social, political institutions – transformed in time

into states- economic surplus lead to trade (Ghana, Mali: sub-Saharan trade routes)- states appeared due to military progress – the Zulu people (and the

progress of the Zulu warriors)- states appeared due to progress in metal working/mining (Benin,

Ashanti)

Inheritance of the pre-colonial period lead to non-hegemony (lack of centralization characteristic to Europe, overlapping communities like German cities in the 1500’s)

Second pre-colonial characteristic – Kinship/Lineage – remains a characteristic of ancestors worship

Colonial inheritance – Africa= a direct result of colonization

1415 – Sinta (first permanent European settlement)1625 – The Dutch established the colony of Cape Town

- Trading outposts of the coast of Africa at the Atlantic Ocean- goods: ivory, gold, slaves

During the “Scramble for Africa” (period 19th – early 20th century) the European powers divided the territory:

French (N, W, C)British (E, W, C, S) Spanish (Morocco, Sahara, Guinea and also the Canaries)Portugal - Azores Islandes, Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinée-Bissau

Italy – Libya, Eritrea, Somalia

Dutch – Cape Town – colony, until it was bought by the British in 1918 after the Napoleon wars, Orange, Transvaal, Boer (from farmers to diamond miners in 1815 – after the Napoleon Wars)

1889-1903 Great Britain occupies the states of Orange and Transvaal and forms the South Africa

Belgium - (Congo)

- Private territory of the king Leopold of Belgium, bought back by the country.

Germany - has colonies in German West Africa – Namibia, German East Africa, Cameron, Togoland, lost them after the WW1

Consequences of the colonial inheritance

- The modern state period – the division of colonies, imposed during the decolonization

- Arbitrary boundaries – ignore social, political and economic factors. Except Swaziland, Lesotho, Rwanda Burundi

- Economic inheritance- Weak political institutions- Formation of state elites – inherited by the state- Re-enforced the non-hegemonic state - Weak link state-civil society

Crawford Young – describes the African colonial state as “alien to its core”- Irredentism: Somalia, Ethiopia- Internal problems, Tanzania – 200 ethnic groups- No colonial legitimacy – based on coercion

9.03.2015

Orientalism- Orient – Oriental

1. Misrepresentation-“rapirea din serai” – occidental vision of the orient -Re-representation of the Orient- The representation is not the person itself

Said- Any form of knowledge is an act of power- Doubled by the economic and military power (and missionary) it

strengthens the legitimate of the act of power

Schliemann- German business man, Isarlâk (the ruins of Troy )- 1920’s “the arab lover”

Pamuk – Alternative representation

- no representation is objective - winners wright the history

- with the exception of Spartacus (the example of the loser, symbol of the under-dog fight)

Great Britain, France loses control over the Orient after the Cold War but America takes the lead. An expert in Middle East knows the language but they are not immersed in the culture, they have a profound political specialization.

2. Generalization/ Supra-simplification

Islam- a system of thought based on auto-sufficiency- neo-liberal system- terrorist vs. freedom fighter- unitary culture vs. diversity, monolithic- Does not have multiple forms of practice- Sunnis /Shiites – issue regarding the 4th air after the death of the prophet- Druze :Lebanon, Syria, Israel

Mahmoud Dabbas: the president of the Palestinian Authority (University of Moscow: the University of Friendship between People)

- The trust in URSS, the communist countries with regard to the former colonies from the west.

Arabs – Arab numbers, imperia and culturesThe 11th century – the renaissance of Cordoba (public libraries), the habit of daily cleansing process as part of prayer

The African- represented as a “new man” = a slaveAfrican cultures: few statal structures (the forming of a state is a characteristic of civilization)Organization may exist also in the absence of statal coercion Non-statal = primitive, from the European perspective

Misrepresentation - Due to the lack of statal culture- Because the state is not capable of external representation

16.03.2015

Nationalism - Desire that the nation should be housed in its own state- European ideology- Connected to liberalism (ex: the national-liberal party)

Liberals- agree that people are capable of passion/violence- human nature is not constant, people can be educated-> believe in

progress- all human beings are moral – we know the difference between good and

bad- revolutionary ideology

Conservatives - do not consider the individual the central focus point but the

community (individuals cannot exist outside the community)- do not believe in progress or positive action of human nature

Hogs:- civil war as the result of the individual expressing their true nature

The link between Nationalism and liberals- medieval society was hierarchical - university autonomy is a medieval heritage- ex: structural groups, divided by territory, diverse communities,

internal customs, guilds

New concept – the Nation (replacing the old order of the nobles)Benedict Anderson – “imagined communities”The modern state arrived in Africa, before any nation considered it as its own. Nations exist apriori.

African nationalism appeared in the struggle against colonialism.- Did not seek to make a new state- Institutionally, they tried to capture the existing state- In order for the African to “capture” the existing state, social

groups replaced the colonial administration

Romanian nationalism- Elite educated abroad that tried to build institutions (church,

educational system, unified the currency )

African nationalism put the emphasis on national unity (to transgress ethnic, racial, religious boundaries). Ex; Malawi

Nationalism- seen as modernization – which requires national unitySamora Machel - “for the nation to live, the tribe must die”

African states: pluralist competition was sacrificed, mostly 1 party

Marxism- Materialist ideology- Everything that exists in society is a result of producing it

PRODUCTION RELATIONS

PR + MP (means of production) STRUCTURE

SUPRA- STRUCTUREGenerates: state, art, religion, ethics = consequence of production

REVOLUTION

NEW SUPRA-STRUCTURE

PR + MP

The Perspective on the world iso Materialist: the mater countso Idealist: ideas count (everything was first an idea)

- The manner how things are produced leads to the creation of classes -> history = the fight of classes

Idea

Confruntation Thesis leads to synthesis Anti-thesis

Aristotel Hegel

Marx argued that the process does not occur for ideas but within the means of production.

Employer- Employee= economic relation but also a class relationBourgeois- Proletarian

The state exists to strengthen the economic structure

All African states were - Nationalist after decolonization- Anti- imperialist

But each followed their path towards the main objectives- National unity - Economic development inter-connected

Tanzania- Tanganyika (26 April 1964)- Zanzibar Land (semi-autonomous part of Tanzania)

African socialism- Emphasis on adapting socialism to the different conditions of

African states- International context: the Cold War- Few African leaders considered liberalism as capable of fighting

poverty - Political amulet by the end of the 1960’s- Emphasized traditional values- The Golden age- equality before the Europeans came

o Traditional values of African culture: equality, cooperationo Modern means of productiono Strange state institutions

- Believed could skip capitalism (industrialization)- Could skip the proletariat soviet like dictatorship- Self-reliant, non-capitalist path toward socialism- The state was the engine of development- The state controlled the production and distribution of goods, no

free market

After 1960’s- African socialist government was transformed to dictatorship

after military coup d’état- Inability of regimes to mobilize peasants (cooperatives)- The nature of world economy- Internal social division

1970’s- Marien Ngouabi, leader of Congo Brazzaville - Scientific socialist regimes: Angola, Mozambique- The star appears on their flags, overlapping of symbols- Similar to Mao’s China: the peasants are the revolutionary factor

not the proletariat (the population consisted of majority peasants)

5.05.2015

B. Anderson – Nation is in in communities Ethnicity – TribalismTribe – instrument of social construction

Africa- Interlocking, overlapping and multiple identities

Akan tribe – Ghana- Maintained by the British administration- Identified as 4 different communities- The administrative imperative demanded tribes

Paradox: Africans themselves, accepted the idea of a larger tribe for political and administrative reasons

- Mostly in English and Belgian colonies- Fulbe Tribe (one of the largest ethnolinguistic groups in Africa,

approx. 40 million people in total. They are one of the most widely dispersed and culturally diverse of the peoples of Africa; bound together by the common language of Fulfulde)

- Privileges that every tribe has- “safety in numbers” - the bigger the tribe, the greater is its

importance for the colonizers- Africans invent tribes- Manipulate history to give the tribe an honorable past

A. Thomson“While the colonial authorities were busy assigning Africans to tribes, the Africans were busy building tribes to belong to”

- Wanted to be members of tribes in order to have perks in the new colonial world (it was in their interest)

- Tribes managed to help both states and civil society- Especially in single-party African states- Even the most repressive state had to accept the regional power- Each regime made tacit concessions- Political acts were acts of balancing different ethnic groups and

had to mediate within the civil society

Donald Rothchild- “hegemonic exchange”- The choices does not change the relation between the center and

religious groups- Skill of balancing each ethnic group within the state

Religion

- Little to no role in government deliberation process- Tenant of the private sphere- The EU has enforced a strict differentiation between public and

private sphere- Secular state with division between public life and private life- 20% of the world’s Muslim population live in Africa- The number of Muslims and Christians are rising

Animism - is diverse from village to village- is not institutionalized- an umbrella for many religions- passing rituals- not a religion but a social etiquette for different practices

Van Jenner- in life, the human being passes through many stages, the passing is

in all religions, marked with a passing ritual- sacralised in different ways, - for ex: Baptism, military service- formal modern ritual, the coming

of age- informal ritual - when the ontological status of a person changes: from girl to

women, through marriage

In the EU the religion is separated from the state, atheism is predominant

Desmond Tutu- anti-apartheid militant- militants have acted through the church because it could not be

contested- religion was used as a substitute

Differences in the states with a Muslim majority population- Islam does not make differences between the public space and the

private- the issue of “intercession”, intervention from another to the

divinity- syncretic practices (ex: Islamic goddesses from Bangladesh)- the disadvantage of Islam was due to the lack of differences

between the private and the public- the majority of Islamic countries are secular

1958 – Mauritania1992- Algeria (Front Islamique)1992- Boko Haram1999- N Nigeria (Sari law)

Algis Anwar El Sadat (third President of Egypt) was assassinated because Egypt did not close a peace treaty with Israel.

11.05.2015

- no/little industrialization- no capitalist mode of production but many inter-relating modes of

production- unequal spread of capitalism in Africa- Morocco, N African countries could be considered “slave societies”- Feudal society: serfs producing for a landlord (ex: Ethiopia, had a

noble/landlord clan)- In S Africa land was commonly held- Classes can be distinguished

Peasants (Marxist)- Subsidence through agriculture- Connected to social rural community

WolfeA peasant produces agricultural goods for the following reasons: subsidence, paying thife (to the owners) and for social interactions (ceremony)

- In comparison, the farmer produces for: small scale subsidence farming

- Small capitalist, thrifting for goods they cannot produce- Little/ no political power- Due to isolation/ tradition they are not revolutionary engaged

(exception Zimbabwe)- Common reaction: disengage from the market economy- “cash crops” – grown with the purpose of being sold =>Taxation- Peasants are trapped between pre-capitalists and capitalist =>

poorly paid “A peasantariat”

Proletariat- Few, for example miners in Zambia, railway workers- Enjoy a relative security of employment and higher wages (some

have unions)- “an aristocracy of labor”, ex: football players- The proletariat is better off than the peasants in contrast with the

Marxist view - “lump proletariat”: beggars, thieves, prostitutes

The informal sectors entrepreneurs –drug dealersCommercial bourgeoisie – not necessarily of African origin

Bureaucratic bourgeoisie - is more important, should not have possessions as civil servants- Their power is not the power of owning a means of production but by

controlling them

R. Skalan

S. OrlowskiNot the means of production but the means of consumption, of compulsion.The government can limit the consumption by taxation

- The bourgeoisie of the civil servant (ministers, party officials, managers of public firms)

- The origin lies in colonization- Class perpetuates by kindship and by assuring the same competitive

advantage (ex: the French, English)- Traditional leaders (ex: Nelson Mandela member of the Transkei royalty)

The international bourgeoisie- Third World countries to copy institutes of the 1st world – Modernization

theory- in order to bridge the gap

R. Prebisch3rd World countries don’t develop because within the capitalist countries a dependency remains => in order to develop, they need to industrialize

“compradors” - licensed natives from Hong Kong, Macao - Acted as intermediators between the W and E

Commercial bourgeoisie- More as an instrument of the developed countries- Irrespective of territorial divisions- Local elites have great authority (ex: Somalia)

Reductionist perspective: doesn’t take into consideration conflicts between classes.

25.05.2015

Revolution/ Coup d’état/Putsch

1952-1990 : 71 revolutions

NCO’s- Sub officers, under qualified military (see Huntington thesis)- Arrested the government- Took over the radio- Installed a military government

Nigeria, Burkina Faso – multiple revolutions

- At the same time, some countries never experience this form of transition- N: Morocco, Mauritania- S: Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho

1. The intervention of military force in politics – why so many coups in Africa?

The result may differ also; different types of regimes may lead to democracy or non-democratic forms.

Three types of coups- Veto- Guardian- Breakthrough

Guardian coup- Official explanation: try to save the country from civilian miss-

management- Ex: Nigeria

Veto coup:- Reaction to opposition to a specific policy- Often corporate interest regarding resources- Frequent in Central and South America- In 1992, Algeria (due to the Islamic opposition possibility of winning the

elections)

Breakthrough coup:- Enacted to transform the political regime/ the society- Sets up revolutionary institutions- monarchies and became republics:

1952- Egypt1974- Ethiopia

Nasser

- Had a tough stance against Israel - An example for other African countries (also from Iran, Yemen) - For 6 years, Egypt was ruled by men in the military

Burkina Faso (Upper Volta before 1970)- Lower rank military overthrew the previous government

Huntington- States lacking institutionalized political culture (different interests are

represented, individuals participate indirectly in taking decisions)- Example: the Egyptian monarchy - A divided society (ethnic, classes, religion) was a conducive environment

for military coups

Ethiopia- The men led by Mengistu took the power with assistance from Cuba

Janowitz- Argued the problem was not the environment by taking as example other

African countries- The military is built over an ethos of professionalism, cohesion,

discipline, patriotism, which comes in conflict with the civilian governments’ corruption

Cases of military coups done for personal reasons:Uganda – Idi Amin DadaCAR – J. B. Bokassa

A functional explanation: the military is responsible for these coups simply because they can. Does not account for the incidence of coups in some states and the lack thereof in others.

Clapham- The army is just another faction (ex: tribe or social groups)- The military= armed wing of the bureaucratic bourgeoisie

1994, Gambia- The army was displaced as a peacekeeping force in Liberia ( brutal

revolutions, cases of cannibalism)- The troops did not have food, were commanded by Nigerian officers- The army overthrew the long lasting multi-party government as its

resources were threatened

1968, Mali- The president tried to set-up a parallel military force- The army intervened because its authority was threatened

Coups were instigated by the former colonial powers (Britain, France and covert CIA) - foreign intervention.

2. What other problems military rule is faced with?

- different reaction to the coups- people didn’t object or - the possibility of a counter- coup (the leaders might be seen as also

inefficient and corrupt)- lack of government or administrative training (they use the same

bureaucratic apparatus-> a hybrid government)- ensuring legitimacy – to prevent civil war, they appeal to the same

instrument as before (power relations remain) using the same neo-patrimonial networks

- delivering promises - most regimes are inefficient in setting up the society they promised

The future – how long does the military regime last till they transform the regime? They do not make plans or draft constitutions.

3. What are the outcomes of the military coups?- All have resulted in increased military spending- Ex: Ghana 22% increase in military spending with 28% decrease in rural

assistance

a) By guardian coup1. Intermediate, medium term military rule1969, 1979 Ghana 1979, 1999 Nigeria

o The military does not retreat from politics but acts as a political referee

o The military drafts the constitution, which asserts the military right to intervene

2. Long term ruleo Outcome is a civilian-military hybrid government

b) By veto coupo Personal rule or take on a guardian position

c) Breakthrough coupo Set up single party stateo Unable to deliver the promiseso Also end up in personal rule or dictatorships

02.06.2015

Sovereignty and Anarchy are faces of the same coin. Anarchy is the lack of authority. Sovereignty is based on the non-interference principle in domestic matters; it is a European concept and a result of the Westphalia Treaties and is enshrined in the UN Charta. There is no clear delimitation in the interaction of state (usually includes a breach of sovereignty).

EU Agreements limit sovereignty. For example, external influences in African States are breaches in sovereignty.

The nature of inter-African international/regional relations

African international institutions have an international background based on pan-African solidarity and ideals after the 1960’s.

OAU

- 1963, oldest organization supposed to gain a confederate character - Based on political rhetoric and not action, the principle of non-

intervention - Lack of recourses- Ineffective, no provisions for intervention- Replaced by the African Union in 2002 - The Charta: intervention is possible under great circumstances- Peer review of maintaining democratic standards

NEPAD

- New partnership for African development - Bring African state to improve economic performance- Objective = good governance - Attracted foreign aid, FDI investments- Lacks transparency, doesn’t engage civil society - Top down process

AU

- Failed to act in Darfur, the Zimbabwe crisis - At regional level: South African Development Community - Approximately all states south of Zaire- In 1994 South Africa was a member - Purpose to counter apartheid - 1992 broaden international organizations - Focuses on economic cooperation and integration - Customs unions in the South

ECOWAS = Economic Community of West African States

- Purpose: economic cooperation- After the cold war focused on political cooperation and security - Took up peace keeping missions in Liberia, Sierra Leone

Few states versus states conflicts, Examples:

1979: Uganda – Tanzania Ethiopia – Eritrea

Angola Civil War:

- MPLA (Marxist inspired party) – Cuban direct intervention – USSR

- UNITA – supported by Zaire (Congo), South Africa and the US

The second Congo War

- At the end of the 90’s - 5 million casualties - Involved all neighboring states

The Cold War Period

- An ideological military confrontations between two superpowers- Africa did not have a strategic output - Zero – Sum Game – what one side won the other side lost - Because of the Cold War logic, by competing for new allies, the African

countries were important - Propaganda so not to lose allies - For example: Egypt was a URSS client till the 70’s after allied the US (after

Israel, Egypt receives the most money for the army)

USSR

- Portrayed itself as an ally, it considered itself as a recent state (the monarchic history was removed)

- Anti-imperialistic discourse- Provided financial aid to Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Ethiopia, Angola,

Mozambique- Pragmatic politics 1950-1960- Access to the military facilities on the African continent- Egypt nationalizes the Suez Canal to be able to finance the construction of

a dam on the Nile, to be built by the USSR

The Cold War

- Hot in the 3rd world countries- War by proxy- Egypt and Syria vs. Israel

Cuba

- The most important state in the socialist camp- Anti-imperialist solidarity- Sent specialist to the African countries, and development and trade

programmes

China

- Close to the USSR until the conflict between the 2 started- The Chinese policy in African countries is anti-Soviet- Pragmatic implication, exterior commerce for constructing local

infrastructure

The paradox of the conflict represents the fear of USA and USSR to be attracted in a conflict by the allies

- Containment policy, limited strategic importance for the USA (ambivalent)

- USA closed its eyes on the totalitarian regimes and the human rights issues (Zaire and South Africa…)

- Doesn’t pressure the apartheid during the conflict. For example American athletes in Africa are given the title of “honorary white”

Great Britain

- Discrete policy during the Cold War - Entered commercial agreements- In 1964 it supports Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tanganyika

France

- The most consistent involvement in the Cold War - de Gaulle supported the project of the African community- He extended its influence on territories with different colonial

background

C. Clapham

- The triad: people- money- force = the success of France France continues its “mission civilisatrice” in the post-colonial period

- Direct bonds between African leaders, with high functions in the French administration

- Financially, it offered the most foreign aid- The French treasury guaranteed the coin of the African Economic

Community- Military cooperation agreements with former colonies- During the cold War 13000 French soldiers were stationed- Numerous political interventions

Scandinavian countries

- The second founder of African states

Arab states

- Supported infrastructure and religion - Opportunities: loans with low interests (acquiring weapons worth 4,5

million), technic aid and infrastructure- Risks: getting attracted into a war. For example: Mobutu (Zair dictator)

was an expert of the game

After the end of the Cold War- Decreasing intensity and the end of the proxy war- Political regimes dependent of the foreign aid disappear- The White regime= the devil you know, racial segregation is no longer

supported/ overseen

Somalia: Black Hawk Down, 1994 - Until present day, no American soldier has intervened in Africa (with the

exception: the bombing of a factory as a response to the bombing of an embassy and the presence in the Indian Ocean for protection against pirates)

The Rwanda Genocide - No intervention from the world powers- Transformation of the international system, compromises of the cold war

are no longer possible

Kenya - Daniel Arap Moi – was removed from office without his external support

France - Does not support the CFA- Continues to intervene military: The Ivory Coast, 2002; Mali 2013-2014

Great Britain- Much more active, especially during the mandate of Tony Blair- Supports good governance and reducing poverty- Raises the issue of the African in the G8 meeting - Policy of erasing debts (110 million dollars dismissed in 2009)- For developing countries: 1997 – 3 million dollars; 2005-2006 1 billion

dollars- Conditions: the state should adopt the policy of fiscal responsibility and

aim to reduce poverty

China- Most involved after the Cold War (1988-2008)- The value of commercial trades increased 10 times - The important economic partner of Africa- It buys natural resources: wood and especially oil- Offers loans without conditions - amoral neo-colonial policy- Massive program of infrastructure (Chinese companies import both raw

materials and the work force)- Little evidence that it supports local economy- In Nigeria and South Africa, they suppressed the local textile industry (but

imposed export quota)- Cheap loans to Zimbabwe

Africa’s problems remain contestant- 40% of Africans are analphabets- Burundi, Angola, Congo – life expectancy is under 40 years- Burundi – 40% of its adult population has AIDS- The neo-liberal and left wing interpretation affirms Africa’s problems are

the result of the global economic structure- The impact of intervention – Africans have entered colonialism with a

shovel and emerged from it with the same shovel - Mono-industrial economies, lack of know-how, no education- Ghana and the Ivory Coast – cocoa exporters but are buying foreign

industrial products which reduces the negotiation power- 1983, Sucden bought the whole production

At the end of the Cold War, the external debt is enormous. Causes: - Decline of loan benefits.- 73-79 Opec raised the oil prices- Raise in loan interest rates- Conditions imposed: reducing poverty, good governance and transition

towards democracy- Forced to privatize – lead to unemployment - Crash of the clientele network which enforced inequality structures- Unclear efficiency of foreign aid.