Nationalism’s role in Africa’s pursuit of unity

Trying to conceptualise nationalism into one understandable subject may be an extremely complex task to undertake because the ''nationalism'' phenomenon has many manifestations as well as a variety of sources. To understand the concept, a pedigree of the historical experience has to be provided from the outset and an analysis of the basic concepts relating to the phenomenon has to be fully explained.

In the in-depth analysis of this piece of work, as may be seen, it is almost impossible to come up with a uniform definition of nationalism. In its most famous definition, nationalism is an ideological movement aimed at attaining and maintaining the identity, unity (through social cohesion) and autonomy (through national self-determination) of a “nation,” or a people united under a “national” banner. This entails that it is the most potent ideology in nation and state building and consolidation. However, as I will seek to illustrate, nationalism, particularly in the contemporary era, has also been a vehicle for disaffected ethnic or cultural communities to voice their dissatisfaction with the status quo. Therefore, in this modern day it is imperative to critically analyse the real essence of Nationalism, especially amongst the diaspora of Africans and those within the continent. Nationalism can be analysed through its relationship with economics, culture and the state. The relationship between the state and nationalism is mediated by two fundamental characteristics of the doctrine of the contemporary state, namely the notions of ''territoriality and sovereignty'' - whereas the state has to make-do with an area that''s within a defined territory, and controlled by a government. The history of Namibia provides numerous examples of the ways in which the restriction of movement across colonial boundaries contributed to the creation of national consciousness confined within state boundaries. In the early 1920s, for example, anti-colonial resistance in Namibia was closely associated with international and South African political movements such as Garveyism and the populist trade unionism of the Industrial and Commercial Workers Union. A major response of the state was to restrict the movement of blacks both within Namibia and across its borders. After attaining independence, the severe reality had kicked in - governments needed to be set up and several countries had an organised administration in that regard, while some others did not. Economies also had to be established, however the industrial factories were minimal and hence there was a struggle to meet the need for manufactured goods. There was no other option but to import and export products. The communities also had to get along which yielded a few clashes due to their respective histories but some countries with few ethnic groups managed. The economic uncertainty has led to no government stability. An example of a current scenario would be South Africa – even though apartheid had been outlawed in 1990, there is still rife ignorance, unemployment, poverty and intense crime, amongst others.The present state of economic development in Africa is most easily assessed in terms of the degree of commercialisation of agriculture, labour and services. The various processes embraced within the concept “commercialisation” (cash-cropping, wage-earning, individualisation of land tenure, urbanisation) constitute a combined assault upon the structures and values of traditional African societies. The power of the chief or elders as custodians of the land and the integrity of the indigenous social structure within which rank, status, and role are determined mainly by age and religious position - all tend to be undermined by the expanding market economy. In the sense that is a primitive method to empower the traditional group economically. However, sometimes, a wealthy family dynasty can contribute highly to enhance the economic growth, but only on a macro-economic level, not a micro-level. The peasant-farmers for instance suffer the most.The challenges of nationalism in Africa''s quest to political unification and economic integration do not only come through the phases of imperialism, gaining sovereignty and post-independence era; but also through external factors. Nationalism can also cause instability when there is lack of fit between states and nations. Domestic instability and foreign intervention are often the result of such national instability. Nationalism also leads to multiple micro-states, as evident of the way African nations have started to spilt-up into smaller states as there is lack of inclusiveness in the operations of the country, especially in the decision-making process of government.In conclusion, nationalism has had both positive and negative aspects. The positives would be that nationalism has promoted democracy, self-government, steady economic growth and social, political, economic diversity. On the other hand, the negatives would be that nationalism has led to people being isolated in a social and psychological ways. There were feelings of either inferiority or superiority, which lead to dictatorships and aggression.

*Tuikila Kaiyamo is a final-year student studying towards a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) majoring in Political Studies and History at the University of Namibia.