Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa

In Africa, legitimation and claims to the legitimate use of force are often challenged by the problematic nature of ethnic diversity, amongst other things. Although ethnicity and diversity are not the problems in themselves, the politicisation of ethnicity is. In this paper, we link this to a histor...

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Autor principal:	Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige Liaga
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	University of Johannesburg 2021
Materias:	coloniality statebuilding force africa ethnicity kenya south sudan nigeria somalia Social Sciences H
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1622e103eeb742c99ebe3e87d2c821aa
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1622e103eeb742c99ebe3e87d2c821aa2021-11-14T16:30:57ZColoniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa2075-24582616-907Xhttps://doaj.org/article/1622e103eeb742c99ebe3e87d2c821aa2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/The_Thinker/article/view/689https://doaj.org/toc/2075-2458https://doaj.org/toc/2616-907XIn Africa, legitimation and claims to the legitimate use of force are often challenged by the problematic nature of ethnic diversity, amongst other things. Although ethnicity and diversity are not the problems in themselves, the politicisation of ethnicity is. In this paper, we link this to a history of colonisation which clustered multiple ethnic groups together within single sovereign entities around the continent, as well as the current realities of coloniality which has prevented states within the continent from imagining and transcending the European artefact and design of the modern state in Africa. We link the exploratory term coloniality in statebuilding to the failure of African states to overcome the politicisation of ethnicity and ethnic diversity in order to mitigate the problematic nature of democracy in modern African states. This failure leads to challenges of legitimacy in any given state, and ultimately the states’ claim to the legitimate use of force. The resultant symptoms and indicators of such challenges are manifest in the rise of various insurgencies, separatism, and other forms of insecurity. The cases of Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia are briefly discussed in this article, highlighting the problematic nature of the claims to the legitimate use of force, legitimacy, and the resultant political ethnicity with all its consequences for these states.Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige LiagaUniversity of Johannesburgarticlecolonialitystatebuildingforceafricaethnicitykenyasouth sudannigeriasomaliaSocial SciencesHENThe Thinker, Vol 89, Pp 45-55 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	coloniality statebuilding force africa ethnicity kenya south sudan nigeria somalia Social Sciences H
spellingShingle	coloniality statebuilding force africa ethnicity kenya south sudan nigeria somalia Social Sciences H Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige Liaga Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
description	In Africa, legitimation and claims to the legitimate use of force are often challenged by the problematic nature of ethnic diversity, amongst other things. Although ethnicity and diversity are not the problems in themselves, the politicisation of ethnicity is. In this paper, we link this to a history of colonisation which clustered multiple ethnic groups together within single sovereign entities around the continent, as well as the current realities of coloniality which has prevented states within the continent from imagining and transcending the European artefact and design of the modern state in Africa. We link the exploratory term coloniality in statebuilding to the failure of African states to overcome the politicisation of ethnicity and ethnic diversity in order to mitigate the problematic nature of democracy in modern African states. This failure leads to challenges of legitimacy in any given state, and ultimately the states’ claim to the legitimate use of force. The resultant symptoms and indicators of such challenges are manifest in the rise of various insurgencies, separatism, and other forms of insecurity. The cases of Kenya, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia are briefly discussed in this article, highlighting the problematic nature of the claims to the legitimate use of force, legitimacy, and the resultant political ethnicity with all its consequences for these states.
format	article
author	Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige Liaga
author_facet	Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige Liaga
author_sort	Samuel Ajogwu Igba and Emmaculate Asige Liaga
title	Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
title_short	Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
title_full	Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
title_fullStr	Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
title_full_unstemmed	Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa
title_sort	coloniality, legitimacy in statebuilding, and the use of force in africa
publisher	University of Johannesburg
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1622e103eeb742c99ebe3e87d2c821aa
work_keys_str_mv	AT samuelajogwuigbaandemmaculateasigeliaga colonialitylegitimacyinstatebuildingandtheuseofforceinafrica
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Coloniality, Legitimacy in Statebuilding, and the Use of Force in Africa

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