Minorities and the State in Africa
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Minorities and the State in Africa By Michael U. Mbanaso and Chi ...

Chapter :  Introduction
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Some of the early political discourse on the state in Africa bordered around the effect of ethnicity on political stability. W. Arthur Lewis made this clear:

Most of them include people who differ from each other in language or tribe or religion or race; some of these groups live side by side in a long tradition of mutual hostility, restrained only in the past by an imperial power. French writers use the word “cleavage” to describe a situation where people are mutually antipathetic, not because they disagree on matters of principle, like liberals and socialists, or because they have different interests like capitalists and workers, but simply because they are historic enemies. Cleavage cannot be overcome merely by argument and economic concessions, as in the traditional British manner, because it is not based on disputes about principles or interests. Hence it is the most difficult problem of all.12

The notion of ethnic identity among any group of people is central in ordering their relationship with other groups and the society at large. The perceived status of a group directly affects their relationship with others and the values attached to them, their collective self-esteem, and their stake in national politics. As such, both individual components of a nation-state and the state as an entity made up of different ethnicities inevitably allocate values that define a particular group as a minority or majority. Papers in this volume examine these issues in historical perspective, drawing on different parts of Africa at different historical periods, and outline how the notion of minority-majority rights creates boundaries and categories of belongingness. Such categorization has oftentimes affected the rights and privileges accorded groups in particular societies. One outcome is the current growth of militant groups and insurrection from organized militias or armed bandits from ethnic groups demanding equity and fairness in the redistribution of state resources. While some may view the civil unrest and the political turmoil in Africa as being triggered by militancy from aggrieved minority groups, others argue that the state is a prime actor and specialist in violence, particularly in terms of incentives for guardianship when there are stable relationships for