African colonial inheritance during and after the scramble for africa

about african pre-colonial and colonial inheritance

1. AFRICA’S PRE-COLONIAL AND COLONIAL INHERITANCE 8/13/2019 1

2. The pre-colonial inheritance Non-hegemonic states Lineage The colonial inheritance Modern states Arbitrary boundaries Reinforcing the non-hegemonic state Weak links between state and civil society The formation of state elites The economic inheritance Weak political institutions 8/13/2019 2

3. Colonial inheritance 1 . Modern State Most obvious legacy of colonial rule was the division of Africa into modern states European rule resulted in Africa being fully integrated within the international jigsaw puzzle of sovereign territories M eant that worldwide (Antarctica excepted), states now accounted for the entire land surface of the globe 8/13/2019 3

4. All of these had clearly delineated and fixed boundaries. All legal political interaction was now held accountable through state institutions. Pre-colonial Africa hosted many stateless societies, and even where there were states, these less well defined than modern descendants. Thus, few Africans had previously experienced the reality of the modern state. 8/13/2019 4

5. 2. Arbitrary boundaries continued… imposition of state borders on African territory had major ramifications Problem: when they were delineated, these state boundaries rarely matched existing pre-colonial political, social or economic divisions Borders were ‘arbitrary’. Arbitrary not meaning random but because they reflected the short-term strategic and economic interests of the imperial powers, and not the interests of the Africans they housed 8/13/2019 5

6. Contemporary map of Africa clearly shows an external and not internal logic to the units chosen For example; Why does West Africa host the tiny state of The Gambia? British commercial interests established trading post at the mouth River Gambia Despite French cajoling, the British government refused to give up this territory Consequently, The Gambia is a micro-state, no more than 50 km wide at any one point, and entirely engulfed by Senegal (except for its short coastline). 8/13/2019 6

7. 2. Arbitrary boundaries continued… ‘arbitrary’ borders created multitude of problems for post-colonial governments Borders do not make economic sense initial disruption to lines of communication and trade Longer-term problems: 14 African countries being landlocked In terms of trade, this puts a state at a significant disadvantage Have to rely on their neighbours’ to transport the bulk of their imports and exports several states without significant resources from which to build their economies no country can secure its future without an economic foundation Artificial boundaries precipitated political and social problems Colonial borders cut through existing political and social units; communities split Example: Somali people scattered among five sovereign states: British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, Ethiopia, and Kenya. colonial rule ‘ dehumanised ’ Africa’s borders 8/13/2019 7

8. 2. Arbitrary boundaries continued… failure of the imposed boundaries to recognise existing divisions was root of two major problems for post-colonial governments 1. possibility of irredentism desire to unite under one flag a community that is currently divided If a pre-colonial political unit found itself split between two states, then there was always a danger that, after independence, violence would be used to reunite this community. Somalia unsuccessfully went to war with Ethiopia in the 1970s, for example, to try to win the Ogaden , an area populated by ethnic Somalis 2. possibility of internal ethnic conflict within a state Imperial boundaries split social groups but ALSO caged them together within these new nation-states over 200 ethnic groups residing within the boundaries of Tanzania , 8/13/2019 8

9. Post-colonial states were thus forced to find institutions and political procedures that ensured that any conflict among their socially divided populations could be resolved peacefully. 8/13/2019 9

10. 3. Reinforcing the non-hegemonic state European colonialism also reinforced the non-hegemonic nature of the African state Only in South Africa, Southern Rhodesia, Kenya, South West Africa and Algeria were there pretensions of building a modern state with each territories receiving significant numbers of white settlers In rest of continent, the imperial powers had only limited goals No desire to invest resources to ensure the state could project its authority into every corner of the new colonies only concentrated on economically productive or strategically important regions 8/13/2019 10

11. Minimal infrastructure built Backed by a ‘thin white line’ of administrators and troops Colonialism on the cheap No wholesale economic or political development was planned for the colonies Thus despite massive impact this period of European colonialism had on African political development, the actual pervasive capacity of the state was relatively weak This lack of state capacity legacy was difficult for post-colonial governments to overcome 8/13/2019 11

12. 4. Weak links between state and civil society Natural consequence of lack of state capacity was that independent Africa also inherited weak links between state and society Colonial political authority gained through conquest, and political institutions imposed Thus; Coercion acted as a substitute for legitimacy 8/13/2019 12

13. The state, in this sense, never rested on a social contract between government and people colonial administrators not even accountable to the Africans they ruled Instead, obeyed orders from superiors back in the capitals of Europe Government was therefore about maintaining order, balancing budgets and overseeing the extraction of raw materials for export. never about the provision of public services form citizens 8/13/2019 13

14. Colonial inheritance for all……. . Weak links between state and civil society continued… By comparison, stronger links between state and society developed more organically within the modern European state; state grown out of, and shaped by its own society Over centuries, elements of civil society had competed with monarchs and emperors, resulting in the idle class and then the working class Each group eventually succeeded in shaping state institutions to reflect their demands Today, notions of democracy underpin this relationship between state and society, Resulting in a complex provision of public services 8/13/2019 14

15. contrasts strongly with Africa where the modern state arrived almost overnight, its nature owed little to existing indigenous civil society Africans were simply left out of any representative relationship between government and people. Consequently , trust and shared political values never developed between the rulers and the ruled State institutions never sought or gained the respect of the people. situation did not bode well for a successful interaction between the state and society in post-colonial Africa 8/13/2019 15

16. 5. The formation of state elites Mostly colonial states content to distance themselves from African subjects; however some contact was needed The ‘thin white lines’ of imperial administrators could not keep the state going all by themselves. number of Africans required to sustain the imperial administration’s authority over the masses led to creation of small indigenous elites within the colonies benefited from access to state institutions would then go on to fight the liberation campaigns, and form the first governments after independence. 8/13/2019 16

17. Initially, colonial administrators selected traditional leaders to be the intermediaries of imperialism raising taxes, supplying labour and ensuring that colonial laws and regulations were respected. In return expect power of the state to back their leadership, with benefit traditional leaders were left to run their jurisdiction largely as they saw fit, as long as colonial interests not compromised method of ‘indirect rule’ was, again, colonialism on the cheap. 8/13/2019 17

18. 5. The formation of state elites continued… state elite not only traditional leaders Younger African elite also emerged gained position from proximity to state power source of social mobility was not traditional authority but education ‘proto-elite’ employed in the lower ranks of the government, as clerks, teachers or court interpreters, became professionals such as lawyers and doctors. prosperity from their salary, and engaged in ‘Western’ society of the towns and cities 8/13/2019 18

19. Towards end of colonial rule, most colonial governments attempted to ‘ Africanise ’ their civil service In effect, imperial rule created its own executioners By the 1950s: Nationalist politics flourished among the educated urban elite challenging nearly all the colonial states Nationalism did have support among the peasantry in the countryside, but it was not a case of society, as a whole, demanding independence Instead, it was about the colonial governments handing over power to African educated elites The very element of African society that had been most closely associated with the colonial state ousted its former employers 8/13/2019 19

20. 6. The economic inheritance Of all elements of Africa’s colonial inheritance; economic legacy most widely debated among Africanists because most obvious feature of modern African history: continent’s poor economic performance Economies failed to ‘take off ‘ after independence despite economic development being priority of governments African states were worse off at the end of 20 th century than they were during the 1960s at decolonization dominant school of thought directly blamed colonial inheritance for lack of development continent been systematically underdeveloped by imperial interests left new independent states in a highly vulnerable ‘dependent’ position colonial administrators failed provide Africa with basic economic foundations governments now needed for countries to flourish arguments of the underdevelopment school are well worth investigating reveal present-day structural problems that can be attributed to colonial rule 8/13/2019 20

21. 6. The economic inheritance continued… More recent academic work broadens blame for economic failure Africans exploited in the past, and left with relatively weak economies at independence this position not insurmountable and economic failure was not inevitable Also imperial predecessors, policies and practices adopted by governments in the post-colonial period contributed to Africa’s economic malaise Central to the idea of underdevelopment is premise that all states operate in a single, global system with capitalism gradually coming to influence all societies around the world as the dominant method of economic exchange and production 8/13/2019 21

22. Not all states are equal within this single international system, however They are divided into two groups: developed states at the centre or core (Western countries) less-developed countries on the periphery (largely the Developing World/Third World) differences in wealth between core and periphery not resulted from The West and Third World embarking on two historically different economic paths product of the same process, with the core developing at the periphery’s expense prosperity West enjoys today founded on exploitation of the periphery’s resources Development and underdevelopment, therefore, are two sides of the same coin 8/13/2019 22

23. . The economic inheritance continued… Economic activity could have helped African economies; instead advanced the position of the West Imperial rule formal political authority that underwrote this process of exploitation Numerous examples of underdevelopment: Exploitation of labour Drain of capital from periphery to core Failure to diversify local economies 8/13/2019 23

24. exploitation of labour Even before colonialism; Atlantic slave trade = labour could have developed africa was focused on developing other parts of world Continued in formal colonial era; once realized Africa was not the new Eldorado (except SA) foused on exploiting other resources like labour Laws and tax systems forced subsistence farmers into mines, plantations, growing cash crops Not pay African labour same wages as Europeans Even forced labour , eg Congo and Mozambique 8/13/2019 24

25. 6 . The economic inheritance cotinued … drain of capital from the periphery to the core states Underdevelopment also resulted from export of surplus economic advancement requires a surplus to be produced AND surplus must be reinvested in economy Instead, the West expropriated surplus for its own use 8/13/2019 25

26. failure of colonial states to diversify local economies only developing primary production on the continent: mining and agriculture peripheral economies became predominantly export economies minerals, coffee, tea, cocoa, vegetable oil, groundnuts, cotton, sisal, etc at independence: problem of a ‘monocrop’ economy Zambia: economy dominated by copper extraction Ghana : cocoa production. If price of this commodity falls on the world market = no other economic sector that country can fall back on balance of payments crisis ensues Imperial administrators only concerned needs of Western industry: demand for raw materials 8/13/2019 26

27. 6. The economic inheritance continued… Investments made focused on the external Transport infrastructure: moving goods from the point of extraction to a port few lines of communication were built to enhance internal or regional trading links African commerce TODAY more engaged with Western, rather than local, markets. The Côte d’Ivoire trades more with France than s with its neighbour , Ghana little investment made in African human resources EXAMPLE: after 300 years of Portuguese rule in Guinea-Bissau, imperialism left just 14 university graduates, an illiteracy rate of 97 per cent, only 265 miles of paved road, and a single factory (a brewery that served the Portuguese troops).10 Underdevelopment thesis says: IF greater proportion of profits generated in Africa, were reinvested locally, would have produced a much healthier economic inheritance for post-colonial African governments 8/13/2019 27

28. 6. The economic inheritance continued… More recent academic thought considers the underdevelopment thesis too polemic scholars agree: exploitation held back potential African development to a degree argue that colonial economic experience was not entirely negative for Third World countries African continent prior to imperial rule was not on the brink of economic ‘take-off’ either Population densities stable no major technological breakthroughs imminent plough and the wheel were not utilised , wind and water power remained largely absent Irrigation not extensive. argue that colonialism, as the pioneer of capitalism: necessary to close the development gap between the Global North and Global South Imperial rule brought great hardship to Africa, but it also brought improved economic techniques, better health and wider experience of education to the continent arguably No better indicator of development than infant mortality rates and life expectancy Both improved dramatically under colonialism Smallpox, diphtheria and tuberculosis were reduced considerably with Western medicines 8/13/2019 28

29. 6 . The economic inheritance continued… How, then, should one judge Africa’s economic inheritance? Did colonial exploitation destroy Africa’s potential, or did minor yet self interested investments leave these territories with at least the substructure of a modern economy? no doubt: imperial powers extracted a great deal of wealth from their colonial possessions via labour exploitation, and raw material and profit export This capital could have been used to benefit Africa rather than the West and may have resulted in a more prosperous continent today colonial era also left Africa with economic foundations based on the primary sector economies may not have been particularly diverse, but also not condemned to permanent poverty as some underdevelopment theorists have suggested Political independence brought: potential for more rapid economic growth flow of profit export to the core could now be stemmed by political means and the capital be reinvested locally Successful diversification of several ex-colonial economies in East (the Asian ‘Tiger’ economies) would seem to support this view 8/13/2019 29

30. 7. Weak political institutions weak political institutions left by the imperial powers As decolonisation approached, nationalist movements began to mobilise , leading the colonial authorities to look for ways of transferring power to indigenous governments majority of cases, negotiation was key to independence result negotiation: agreement of the imperial authorities to oversee multi-party elections with victor taking up the reins of power under a new independence constitution All these constitutions guaranteed pluralist democracy and the rule of law 8/13/2019 30

31. The ultimate irony of colonial rule Imperial powers sought to leave a legacy of constitutional liberal democracy These were the liberties and political representation that imperial administrators had consciously withheld from Africans during their own rule Colonial structures were about control and expropriation at the lowest possible cost Imperialism not have as its goal the creation of legal rational institutions on foreign soil Thus, colonial states had been highly bureaucratic and authoritarian never sought legitimacy from their subjects Not interested in representing the views of their subjects; ruled through domination, supported by coercion. political culture was not appropriate predecessor for : new liberal democratic states Thus many of elements of colonial authoritarianism listed above resurfaced in post-colonial era Bureaucratic authoritarianism would be the true institutional legacy left to the former colonies 8/13/2019 31

32. Summary of potential problems created by colonial inheritance 8/13/2019 32

33. 1 . Study the contemporary map of Africa = quiz on Wednesday 2. Read CASE STUDY: KENYA’S HISTORICAL INHERITANCE Thomson, 2010: p. 23-28 Answer questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Thomson, 2010: 29) Which elements of pre-colonial African society continue to influence African politics today ? 2. How have Africa’s imperially imposed borders affected the continent politically, economically and socially ? 3. To what extent did the state and civil society engage in colonial Africa ? 4. What role did the African educated elite play in colonial rule and national liberation ? 5. Does the evidence from Africa support the thesis of underdevelopment ? 6. How appropriate were the political institutions left to Africa at independence ? Thomson, A. 2010. An Introduction to African Politics . [3 rd ed.]. Routledge: London and New York. [Online]. Available: http://www.library.utamu.ac.ug/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Alex_Thomson_An_introduction_to_African_politicsBookFi.org_.pdf . [].

34. QUESTIONS! 8/13/2019 34