AFRICAN

NATIONALISM
Unit 1: Basic Concepts
African Nationalism
■ Before we dive into the topic of African Nationalism, ask yourself some of the
following questions. This will help you to determine ‘where you are’ and what you
already know of the topic.
– What is African Nationalism?
– Where does it come from?
– What purpose did/does it serve?
– During which time/era did it take place? Is it still alive today?
– What is the significance or importance of African Nationalism?
– Do I know any significant people that are somehow related to African
Nationalism?
Basic Concepts
■ Nationalism:
- Firstly, it must be noted that there are different ways in which to define the concept of
‘nationalism’. These are some basic definitions to use as a starting point. Define it
yourself, too, to make sure that you fully grasp the concept.
- Nationalism refers to one’s identification with your nation and one’s support for its
interests. Many times this goes hand-in-hand with patriotism.
- Nationalism is an idea or movement that promotes the interests of a specific nation.
The aim of nationalism is often times the gaining or maintenance of self-government
and sovereignty over the homeland of the nation/people in question.
- Nationalism calls on people to identify with the interests of their national group and to
support the creation of a nation-state to support those interests
- Nationalism refers to the idea of uniting people with a similar culture and creed, and
building up a nation and country out of these people. “Creed and culture” refer to
things such as language, customs, beliefs, religion, values, social behavior, as well as
cultural aspects like cuisine (food), art, music, dance, etc.
Basic Concepts

■ Nationalism:
– Nationalism, as we study it, originated in Europe in the 19th century (1800’s)
as a method of simultaneously strengthening your own nation and challenging
foreign rule.
■ For example, in the early 19th century, there existed nearly 20 small German-
speaking states and principalities, i.e. Prussia, Bavaria, Hanover, Saxony, etc.
■ Although the people in these different states spoke the same language and had
roughly the same culture, they lived in different states.
■ During the 1860’s, Prussia prevailed as a strong military and industrial state in
Europe.
■ Over the next decade, Prussian leaders used the German language as a unifying
force to unite all these German states into the German Empire in 1871.
Basic Concepts
■ African Nationalism:
- African Nationalism is different from European nationalism.
- European Nationalism is based on cultural identity and solidarity, while African
nationalism is based on grievances against colonial rule.
- European nationalism is based on a commitment to a particular cultural or ethnic group,
while African nationalism is based on a commitment toward a nation.
- African nationalism is based on anti-colonialism, while European nationalism was based
on a shared cultural identity.
- European nationalism originated in the 19th century before World War 1, while African
nationalism sprang up in the mid-20th century just after World War 2.
- “African nationalism is a subjective feeling of kinship or affinity shared by people of African
descent. It is a feeling based on shared cultural norms, traditional institutions, racial heritage,
and a common historical experience. One enduring historical experience shared by nearly all
Africans was colonial oppression… Along with this sense of shared identity is a collective desire
to maintain one’s own cultural, social, and political values independent of outside control.”
(Vincent B. Khopoya: “The African Experience”, 2013)
- Can we refer to African nationalism as “Africanism”? Because we associate ‘nationalism’ with a
shared cultural identity and we did not see that so strongly in ‘African nationalism’, there is an
argument to make for the use of the term ‘Africanism’.
Basic Concepts

■ Historians proposed 3 kinds of African Nationalism:

– Ethnic/Tribal nationalism
– Geo-political nationalism
– Pan-African nationalism (this will be studied in Unit 3)
Basic Concepts

■ Ethnic/Tribal Nationalism:
■ It is a form of nationalism wherein ‘the nation’ is defined in terms of ethnicity. The central theme
of ethnic nationalism is that nations are defined by a shared heritage, which usually includes a
common language, a common faith, and a common ethnic ancestry.
■ Thus, the nation is made up of only one ethnic group.
■ Ethnic nationalism can cross country border lines.
■ Example of ethnic nationalism in Africa?
– Afrikaner nationalism in South Africa, c. 1920s-1960s.
– Zulu nationalism in South Africa, c. 1975-1999, under the banner of the Inkatha Freedom
Party.
■ Example of ethnic nationalism in the rest of the world?
– German nationalism, c. 1930s, under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi-regime.
Basic Concepts
■ Geo-political Nationalism:
■ In Africa the boundaries of countries had been drawn by the colonial powers, e.g.
Namibian border (pictured right). We thus have many unnatural borders in Africa.
■ In many cases the population of an African state consisted of many different
tribes/ethnic groups:
– E.g. Nigeria has more than 250 different tribes.
■ Geo-political nationalism meant that the people within the borders of a colony
wanted to form a single nation from the different tribes in that geographical area.
■ It proved very difficult to unite people of different ethnic groups in one state with a
single national loyalty.
– Why do you think this was the case?
■ Example in Africa?
– Namibia, South Africa, Nigeria.
■ Example in the rest of the world?
– Korean nationalism after the Korean War (1950-1953) divided the country
into two different countries, namely the People’s Republic of North Korea and
the Republic of Korea (a.k.a. South Korea)
Basic Concepts

■ Colonialism:
– Colonialism is the system whereby a powerful country uses its economic and
political power to take over a weaker country.
– Colonialism is the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over
another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
– In Africa, colonialism resulted in the destruction of existing African kingdoms and
the creation of colonies by European powers.
– For example, the (pre-colonial) Great Zimbabwean Empire was replaced by the
British colonies of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, as well as the
Portuguese colony of Mozambique.
■ See the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures on the next slide…
– It is important to remember that not only Africa was colonized by European powers.
Colonialism also affected the continents of South America and Asia, for instance.
Basic Concepts

■ Colonization:
– Colonization is the actual process used by European powers to control other
countries politically, culturally and economically.
– Colonization is the action or process of settling among and establishing control
over the indigenous people of an area.
– The image on the next slide depicts this ‘settling among indigenous people and
establishing control over them and the geographical area.’
 Basic Concepts

■ Decolonization:
– It was the process by which the former colonies of
the great European empires were given up and
their peoples granted independence (freedom).
– Decolonization is the action or process of a state
withdrawing from a former colony, leaving it
independent.
– Sometimes decolonization was achieved only after
a long and hard-fought war, like in the case of
Kenya, while other colonies gained their
independence without a war, like Lesotho.
Basic Concepts

■ Anti-colonialism:
– It refers to a sentiment, feeling or even movement that is opposed to
colonialism or imperialism.
– The artificial boundaries that European colonizing powers drew up in Africa
made the growth of a culturally-based nationalism difficult. In many cases,
people of the same ethnic group or culture were now living in different
colonies.
– As a result, anti-colonialism developed, because colonialism was one aspect of
life that most Africans experienced. Out of this shared sense of anti-
colonialism did African Nationalism then develop.
– Anti-colonial sentiment thus sits at the heart of African Nationalism.
Basic Concepts
■ African Renaissance:
– African Renaissance is the concept that African people and nations overcome
the current challenges confronting the continent and achieve cultural,
scientific and economic renewal.
– The concept was first articulated by Cheikh Anta Diop in a series of essays
beginning in 1946, which are collected in his book ‘Towards the African
Renaissance: Essays in Culture and Development, 1946-1960’. In his book,
Diop stated: “The development of our indigenous languages is the prerequisite
for a real African Renaissance.”
- The concept of African Renaissance was also popularized by the then South
Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki. In April 1997, Mbeki articulated the elements
that comprised the African Renaissance:
- social cohesion; democracy; economic rebuilding and growth; and the
establishment of Africa as a significant player in geo-political affairs.
African Renaissance monument in Dakar, Senegal.
Suggested reading

■ Reading 1 – African Nationalism and Pan-Africanism, pp. 410-413.

■ Reading 2 – African Nationalism and the Struggle for Freedom, pp. 150-153.
■ Reading 17 – National Movements in Colonial Africa, pp. 1-3.