Ethnicity And Regionalism In National Politics In Kenya And Nigeria A Comparative Study

This work is a comparative study of ethnic politics in Kenya in Nigeria, two countries on the African continent where ethnicity has played a major role in determining their destiny as much it has elsewhere only in varying degrees. This is similar to the author's other works on Rwanda and Burundi – including “Identity Politics and Ethnic Conflicts in Rwanda and Burundi: A Comparative Study” – where the same phenomenon has had tragic consequences for decades; both works appropriate in their own contexts yet of continental relevance. The work is also an examination of the Nigerian civil war whose tragic consequences included the secession of the Eastern Region which declared independence as the Republic of Biafra after tens of thousands of Easterners were massacred in Northern Nigeria in 1966.

This book is more than just a study of ethnic politics in Kenya and Nigeria. The two countries are a microcosm of the entire continent: the problems it faces, its successes and failures, and the hope and despair of hundreds of millions of its people whose aspirations have been frustrated by decades of corrupt leadership that has skilfully exploited one of Africa's biggest weaknesses -- tribalism. But the people themselves are also responsible for that. They have allowed tribalism to flourish and destroy the countries. And they have allowed unscrupulous politicians to use and abuse them -- without storming the Bastille. What they are not responsible for is dictatorship African leaders instituted to perpetuate themselves in office by exploiting tribalism. These despots have been so good at it, and have done it for so long since independence, that many African countries are now on the brink of collapse, with the people at war against themselves.

This book discusses Kenya’s transition from authoritarianism to more democratic forms of politics and its impact on Kenya’s multi-ethnic society. The author examines two significant questions: Why and how is ethnicity salient in Kenya’s transition from one-party rule to multiparty politics? What is the relationship between ethnic conflict and political liberalization? The project explains the perennial issues of political disorganization through state violence and ethnicization of politics, and considers the significance of the concept of justice in Kenya.

Offers an insightful yet readable study of the paths - and challenges - to social cohesion in Africa, by experienced historians, economists and political scientists.

Offers a groundbreaking analysis of the distinctive substantive, theoretical and methodological contributions of subnational research in the field of comparative politics.

The book is a collection of papers about indigenous, aboriginal, ethnic and fugitive groups from different countries, regions and areas. The book's chapters are written by scholars from different disciplines who exemplify these groups' way of life, problems, etc. from educational aspects, governmental aspects, aspects of human rights, economic statues, legal statues etc. The chapters describe their difficulties, but also their will to preserve their culture and language, and make their life better.

This book frames the debates around the pressing desire for some form of unification that found expression in the pan-Africanist movement and formation of the Organization of African Unity in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 1963 following the advent of home-rule for many former colonies of the Western powers. Discussions in this volume address the following fundamental issues: nationalism and political integration and how the contradictions between both philosophies can be resolved; the amelioration of corruption in order to attract internal and external investments critical for developing the vast natural resources housed in the continent; the need for Africa’s adaptation to the ideology and practice of capitalism and liberal globalization to suit the character of African states in a projected federal United States of Africa; solutions to ethnic conflicts that are bound to happen over clashes of competing group interests; the indispensability and promotion of information communication technologies and urgent need to strengthen a network of regional electric power grids that would provide constant energy to the Union and lead to improvement in communication and economic growth; and recommendation of social democracy as the genre of democracy suitable for a proposed United States of Africa.