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Dissertation Abstract My dissertation, Ethnicity and Institution-Building in Africa, observes that the state’s authority is undergoing a historic transformation in many parts of Africa. Some states are struggling to overcome internal conflicts based on ethnic divisions. But Africa’s pre-colonial past reflected relatively harmonious coexistence between most tribes. What has caused the historic condition of comity to break down? Competing explanations for the political importance of ethnicity on the continent have ranged from deep cultural history to instrumentalism linked to the structural components of ethnic networks. My dissertation examines instead how the difference in degrees of institutionalization of postcolonial bureaucratic rule affects choice of identity and the extent to which the intensity of ethnic feelings is shaped. I argue that African states fraught with political authority based on selective patronage are more likely to generate ethnic conflict than those which had more institutionalized, bureaucratic rules. I test my argument, first, by process tracing the overlooked postcolonial bureaucratic rule in which nation-building was often superimposed on selective patronage. I then use a tripartite research methodology, in which statistical, formal, and narrative accounts are mutually supportive to investigate the interplay among preferences, strategies, institutions, and the political outcomes of ethnicity. To read the extended version click here. |
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▪ When is a Nation in Africa? ▪ From Melting Pot to Belonging: Lessons of Citizenship to be Learned from Côte d’Ivoire in the developing World |
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