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Independence

Self-determination and secession : A 21st Century Challenge to the Post-colonial State in Africa

Upphovsperson: Bereketeab, Redie
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Independence, Self-determination, decolonization, Secession, boundaries, Nation-building, Post-colonialism, Sovereignty
Two approaches have characterised analysis of the postcolonial state in Africa. One emphasises the territorial integrity of the postcolonial state, with inherited colonial borders being viewed as sacrosanct and state-centred rights being given primacy. The other questions the sacrosanctity of colonial borders and seeks to promote the primacy of people-centred rights. The increasing frequency in recent years of quests for self-determination and secession in Africa poses an existential challenge to the postcolonial state on that continent. This Policy Note addresses this emerging trend.

Self-Determination and Secessionism in Somaliland and South Sudan : Challenges to Postcolonial State-building

Upphovsperson: Bereketeab, Redie
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Somaliland, South Sudan, Independence, Self-determination, Secession, Nation-building, Political developmetn, International relations, comparative analysis
This paper analyses the notion of self-determination and secession by adopting acomparative perspective on two case studies, namely Somaliland and South Sudan. Somaliland declared its independence in 1991 following the collapse of the Somali state. Since then, Somaliland has been making relentless efforts to secure recognition from the international community. South Sudan successfully negotiated the right to exerciseself-determination, a right that was formalised in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The people of South Sudan held a referendum and voted overwhelmingly for secession, with formal independence being achieved on 9 July 2011. International law may better qualify Somaliland for statehood than South Sudan for three reasons: (i) it was created by colonialism, (ii) it has already been recognised, albeit only for a few days, as an independent state in 1960, and (iii) it has proven to be stable, functional and relatively democratic. Yet Somaliland has failed to achieve international recognition. This paper interrogates this discrepancy. It concludes that the existence of a partner ready to accept the right of self-determination, and geostrategic concerns about security as well a seconomic and political interests, determine international recognition.

Re-living the second Chimurenga : memories from the liberation struggle in Zimbabwe

Upphovsperson: Chung, Fay
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet; Weaver Press, Harare
År: 2006
Ämnesord: Biographies, national liberation movements, Liberation, Civil war, Independence, ZANU, Zimbabwe, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Fay Chung grew up in a Chinese family in Rhodesia in the 1950s and 1960s. She studied education and literature, and became a lecturer at the University of Zambia in the early 1970s. In Zambia, she joined the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), and took part in the radicalisation of the nationalist rising, which led to Zimbabwe's independence in 1980. The memoirs of Fay Chung give an inside view of the divisions within ZANU during the late 1970s. She witnessed the change of leadership from Sithole to Mugabe, experienced the tensions between politicians and military leaders, as well as the rise and fall of the vashandi movement, which tried to change the direction of ZANU in a more socialist direction. Within ZANU, Fay Chung was prominent in preparing educational reform, and after Independence worked for the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education and Culture - eventually as Minister. Her memoirs describe the efforts to extend access to education and to bring ‘education-with-production’ principles into school curricula. Fay Chung also reflects on the ongoing crisis in Zimbabwe. While regretting the violence, she is critical of the new democratic opposition, and supports Robert Mugabe's 'Third Chimurenga' as a return to the objectives of land reform and economic justice, which she sees as the 'heartblood' of the liberation struggle. This is an account, which will be certain to provoke many readers, and which will stimulate discussions both within Zimbabwe and abroad. This edition includes an introduction by Preben Kaarsholm, which situates Fay Chung's narrative in the context of ongoing debates about Zimbabwe.

Re-examining liberation in Namibia : political culture since independence

Upphovsperson: Melber, Henning
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2003
Ämnesord: Namibia, Independence, Liberation, Political culture, Reconciliation, Post-colonialism, Human rights, Political science, Statsvetenskap
From 1960, SWAPO of Namibia led the organised and later armed struggle for independence. In late 1989, the liberation movement was finally elected to power under United Nations supervision as the legitimate government. When the Republic of Namibia was proclaimed on 21 March 1990, the long and bitter struggle for sovereignty came to an end. This volume takes stock of emerging trends in the country's political culture since independence. The contributions, mainly by authors from Namibia and Southern Africa who supported the anti-colonial movements, critically explore the achievements and shortcomings that have been part of liberation in Namibia.

Development from below : a Namibian case study

Upphovspersoner: Kössler, Reinhart | Melber, Henning | Strand, Per
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2003
Ämnesord: Southern Africa, Namibia, colonialism, history, Independence, Globalization, Ethnicity, Traditional culture, Nation-building, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
This Discussion Paper offers a revised lecture by Reinhart Kössler, which was originally presented to a Research Forum organised by The Nordic Africa Institute jointly with the Seminar for Development Studies of Uppsala University. It deals with aspects of rebuilding societies from below firstly in a general development studies discourse on a more theoretical level, considering aspects of the current debate on globalisation. This is followed by a concrete case study from southern Namibia. It illustrates local responses by the Witbooi-Nama in Gibeon to (re-)define identity within the context of a (nation-)state in a post-apartheid society. The paper is commented upon by two discussants (Per Strand and Henning Melber). The contributions reflect on the issue of social reconstruction in the context of (southern) Africa with reference to a particular marginalised group. They deal, among other things, with the question of social power and the "invention of tradition" in local efforts to gain from, or seek integration into, the nation building process.