POLI 324

Question 1

What is Chimamanda Adichie’s main argument?

Answer 1

• There has been a recurrent single story and impression of Africa in the West, a story of poverty, pity, and negativity
• False story of everyone in Africa dying of poverty and AIDS, and unable to speak for themselves and waiting to be saved by a white foreigner
• John Locke: referred to Africans as ‘beasts who have no houses’, his writing represents the beginning of a tradition of telling African stories in the West
• It is impossible to talk about the single story without talking about power
• Power is the ability to tell the story of another person and make it the definitive story of that person
• The single story creates stereotypes, which are not necessarily untrue but rather incomplete

Question 2

When did Sudan gain independence from Britain?

Answer 2

1956

Question 3

What is the difference between North and South Sudan according to John Lee Anderson?

Answer 3

• South Sudan: tropical climate, inhabited by African Christians
• North Sudan: desert climate, inhabited by Muslims of mixed Arab and African descent (but identify as Arab)
• The North and South have historically been divided with their own tribes, traditions, and loyalties

Question 4

What happened to Sudan after independence?

Answer 4

• The new regime became dominated by northern elites and discriminated harshly against the South, causing decades of civil war
• The British governed the north and south separately which reinforced their differences
• Government refused to grant autonomy or political participation to the south, led to violent resistance
• Gov also pushed for the Arabization and Islamization of the country, seen by southerners as an attack on their identity, traditions, and autonomy

Question 5

What happened in 1989 in Sudan?

Answer 5

• General Omar Al-Bashir seized power in a military coup
• Attacked the main southern rebel group, the SPLA
• Conflict killed over 2 million people, many by starvation and displacement
• South of Sudan became a disaster area sustained by foreign aid

Question 6

What happened in 2005 in Sudan?

Answer 6

UN got Bashir to sign a peace agreement with the SPLA, ended the long civil war

Question 7

Describe Sudan post civil war according to John Lee Anderson

Answer 7

• Undeveloped wasteland, high child mortality rates
• Most citizens poor and illiterate
• Real source of conflict: racial and tribal identity. Northern Sudanese regard themselves as Arab and look down on the South. South Sudan also has over 40 tribes and is a highly divided society
• 2011: the State of South Sudan was officially created

Question 8

Africa has often been described as a kleptocracy. Explain this.

Answer 8

Government by thieves, defined by corruption, lack of laws and regulations, government that chronically steals from its people and exploits the population

Question 9

What is Severine Autesserre’s main argument?

Answer 9

-3 central narratives dominate public discourse on the Congo
- These narratives benefit Western policymakers because they offer clear explanations to complex violence
- Focus on these narratives has led to unintended consequences such as increases in human rights violations
- Autesserre critiques the way public discourse has been shaped by simplified narratives- they prevent a more nuanced understanding of the conflict

Question 10

What is Narrative 1 according to Severine Autesserre?

Answer 10

• Primary cause of violence = the illegal exploitation of mineral resources
• Congolese minerals fund armed groups who commit atrocities against the population
• PROBLEM: focus on mineral exploitation overlooks other causes of violence such as land conflict, poverty, and corruption
• Congolese intellectuals argue violent competition for power among Congolese leaders as a more accurate cause of violence
• Advocacy of the mineral problem has forced companies doing business in Congo to consider whether their actions fuel the conflict (eg tech companies that export coltan)
• Unintended consequence: international efforts regarding minerals have deprived vulnerable populations of their sole means of livelihood

Question 11

What is Narrative 2 according to Severine Autesserre?

Answer 11

• Main consequence of the mineral problem: sexual abuse of women and girls
• Journalists and aid workers have labelled the Congo as the most dangerous place on earth to be a woman
• Sexual violence has become a buzzword for the international community
• Narrative of sexual violence dominates because the emotional impact is particularly strong, it resonates with audiences worldwide
• PROBLEM: women and girls are singled out as the only victims of violence at the expense of others, eg child soldiers or victims of nonsexual torture

Question 12

What is Narrative 3 according to Severine Autesserre?

Answer 12

• Central solution to violence in Congo: extending state authority
• UN peacekeeping mission wants Congo to extend its authority in unstable provinces
• Belief that contemporary problems are domestic issues that Congo would be able to resolve if it were not a failed state
• PROBLEM: The Congolese state remains a predatory structure that commits the majority of human rights violations against the population

Question 13

What is Severine Autesserre’s proposed solution to the conflict in Congo?

Answer 13

Resolving land conflict, promoting inter-community reconciliation and economic development, ensuring state authorities respect human rights, fighting corruption

Question 14

When did the Congo transition to peace and democracy?

Answer 14

2006: new constitution implemented and democratic elections
- However, insecurity has increased, there are more internally displaced people, widespread human rights abuses by armed groups, worsening poverty

Question 15

What western assumption does Congo disprove?

Answer 15

The assumption that once a country becomes democratic, all subsequent problems go away. Congo is a prime example that this assumption is false because democratic government continues to coexist with ongoing violence and instability

Question 16

What is Paul Lovejoy’s main arguments?

Answer 16

• The European slave trade across the Atlantic critically transformed African society
• Slave trade became fundamental to both the West and Africa’s political economy, grew in response to larger markets
• Approx 12-13 million slaves were imported into the Americas, though numerous went unrecorded due to missing data

Question 17

What were 2 major hubs of the slave trade according to Paul Lovejoy?

Answer 17

• Bight of Biafra: western region, slaves captured either during local wars or traded by Europeans in exchange for goods (alcohol, textiles)
• Zaire River Basin and Angola: west-central Africa, approximately 40% of slaves were exported from there including children

Question 18

What was the general profile of slaves according to Paul Lovejoy?

Answer 18

• Over 40% were Bantu-speaking peoples
• Majority male, buyers wanted strong workers, though female slaves were popular for polygyny
• Children initially underrepresented in the trade and then became more numerous overtime
• Reasons for less female and child slaves: internal African demand, disease

Question 19

What were 5 impacts of the slave trade according to Paul Lovejoy?

Answer 19

1. Destruction of communities: cultural dislocation, identity loss, loss of cultural practices and languages
2. Political fragmentation: many African states became embroiled in wars
3. Obstruction of modern African state formation
4. Influenced the rise of more authoritarian and violent rulers
5. Negative economic development: huge population displacement, loss of labor forces

Question 20

What is Adu Boahen’s main argument?

Answer 20

• The slave trade has resulted in a loss of African sovereignty and independence, was an assault on established cultures
• African leaders strongly resisted colonization, many chose to die on the battlefield or go into exile rather than surrender sovereignty
• Pre-colonization: no African country was made up of any single ethnic group, relations were already hostile, worsened by colonization

Question 21

What is the high noon of colonialism according to Adu Boahen?

Answer 21

1914-1935: when infrastructures, roads and railways were built in African colonies to facilitate resource exploitation

Question 22

What does Adu Boahen mention is an outcome of colonialism in Africa?

Answer 22

Emergence of African political nationalism. Grievances over forced labor, land alienation, pass laws, racial discrimination, segregation

Question 23

What are 4 theories of European imperialism according to G.N. Uzoigwe?

Answer 23

1. Economic theory: imperialism as the final stage of capitalism, necessary for complete domination of markets, resources, and labor
2. Social Darwinism: idea that certain people become more powerful in society because they are innately better. Belief in the superiority of the European race and conquest of ‘backwards races’ as a natural process
3. Evangelical Christianity: claim that the conquest of Africa was part of a broader humanitarian mission to regenerate the African people
4. Diplomatic theory: imperialism as providing Western national prestige, European nations were seeking political dominance

Question 24

What does G.N. Uzoigwe say about the Berlin Conference?

Answer 24

• 1884-5: convened by German Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck, involved all major European powers
• Formalized the Scramble for Africa, established guidelines for acquiring and exercising power, marked the end of informal imperialism
• Key agreement: Doctrine of Effective Occupation- territorial claims are only legitimate if a physical presence and control of the area is established (eg military post)
• Congo Basin was declared a free trade zone with no restrictions or tariffs, facilitated commercial flow
• Declared the suppression of the slave trade, though this was largely symbolic
• No African leaders were invited to the conference, disregarding African sovereignty and rights
• The arbitrary borders established at the Berlin Conference are primarily responsible for the contemporary political disputes in Africa today

Question 25

What are 4 factors that allowed European powers to conquer Africa according to G.N. Uzoigwe?

Answer 25

1. Knowledge of land and resources from past missionary explorations
2. Material and financial resources
3. Intra-state conflict and African rivalries, weakened African resistance and solidarity
4. Logistic and military superiority

Question 26

Whats the difference between domestic African slavery and the trans-atlantic slave trade?

Answer 26

• Domestic African slavery: focus on local economy, facilitated state centralization, slaves often used for military or admin purposes, less destructive than the trans-atlantic trade because slaves could buy their freedom
• Trans-Atlantic slave trade: integration of Africa into the global economy, based on international commidity markets, linked to modern capitalism and industrialism

Question 27

What is the Bula Matari according to Crawford Young?

Answer 27

• Metaphor given to the Belgian colonial administration in Congo, meaning the crusher of rocks
• Signifies the colonial state’s forceful, authoritative and brutal nature

Question 28

What is the main argument in Adom Getachew’s text?

Answer 28

• A federation of African states would overcome colonial dependency by constituting a larger regional market that would enhance development
• Through economic integration, African states would create an African common market and could forego their dependence on international markets
• Idea based on Kwame Nkrumah’s pan-African vision in Ghana

Question 29

Who was Kwame Nkrumah according to Adom Getachew?

Answer 29

• Leader of Ghana’s nationalist independence movement, became the first PM after independence
• Had a vision of a pan-African federation that would reimagine African politics to overcome the problem of colonial dependence
• Viewed nationalism as a powerful and positive force that could unify colonized people and foster a sense of collective identity among diverse ethnic groups
• His vision ultimately failed, Ghana has not overcome colonial dependence
• Vision of a borderless United States of Africa

Question 30

When did Ghana gain independence from Britain?

Answer 30

1957: declared the birth of a new Africa by Nkrumah, who insisted African states had to unite because he believed Ghanian independence was meaningless unless it was linked to the total liberation of the African continent

Question 31

Who was Elie Kedourie?

Answer 31

• British historian known for its critical view of nationalism
• Argues nationalism is a destructive ideology in non-Western societies that fosters division, conflict, and authoritarianism
• Because it promotes the idea of a homogeneous state based on ethnicity and culture
• But African states contain numerous ethnic groups and tribes with distinct histories and interests, which is not conducive to unification
• Kedourie views the imposition of nationalism as ignoring traditional forms of governance

Question 32

What is Peter Ekeh’s main argument?

Answer 32

• Colonialism in Africa has resulted in the emergence of two publics in modern post-colonial states: the primordial and the civic public
• Many of Africa’s contemporary political problems are due to the relationship between the two publics
• The dual existence of the primordial and civic public creates a complex socio-political environment where individuals navigate different sets of expectations and moral codes

Question 33

What is the first public realm in post-colonial Africa according to Peter Ekeh?

Answer 33

The primordial public:
- rooted in the cultural, ethnic, and kinship ties that existed before colonialism
- characterized by deep personal and social bonds
- strong sense of moral obligation towards ethnic or cultural group
- operates on the same moral imperative as the private realm

Question 34

What is the second public realm in post-colonial Africa according to Peter Ekeh?

Answer 34

The civic public:
- emerged during and after the colonial period
- associated with the state, formal institutions, and colonial governance structures
- characterized by a lack of moral accountability, corruption, and exploitation
- lacks the moral imperatives of the private realm: individuals can take from the state without guilt or moral obligation

Question 35

What are 3 colonial ideologies of legitimation according to Peter Ekeh?

Answer 35

1. The backwardness of the African past: natives vs the westernized rhetoric, Africans as uneducated
2. The lack of African contribution to state building: false claims that important landmarks and waterways were discovered by European explorers
3. Inter-tribal feuds: presenting colonial administrators as benevolent interveners who could establish order