Borders, Nationalism and the African State

By the end of the twentieth century, most Western European and North American states enjoyed effective governments and mostly stable societies. In contrast, European states - especially in the Balkans - and many African states experienced substantial political instability and mass racial and ethnic violence. Why?

To answer this question, a study was undertaken, culminating in this book. The study focused on four African states. Three factors were identified as being essential for building stable states and societies: the consolidation of

borders, the building of state institutions, and the creation of national consciousness. In order to understand how these three factors constitute the essential elements for stable states and societies, this chapter provides a broad historical background. Subsequent chapters the offer in-depth analyses of border consolidation, state formation, and national identity formation in Sudan, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (hereinafter DRC), and Sierra Leone. Two additional chapters analyze economic contexts for civil warfare and the position of African States in the world economy, bringing the important perspective of political economy into the mix. We chose Sudan, Ethiopia, the DRC, and Sierra Leone partly because they give us varying views of the partial accomplishment of these critical state objectives in the African context, and partly because of the constraints of financing. Our original research design also included Nigeria, Algeria, Angola and South Africa among our cases.