During the last century, most former African colonials gained independence with the assistance of the international community and the development of nationalism. The African nationalism and pan-Africanism are largely responses to the European colonial rule and efforts to liberate Africans as a whole from these external powers. The European nationalism is, with notable exceptions, an effort for the people to claim sovereignty of the nation state based on popular support and cultural identity. This essay will compare the origins, characteristics, and effects of the European and African nationalism respectively. This essay argues that 1) the African nationalism is distinctively different from European nationalism, and 2) the limitations of African nationalism were largely imposed by the legacy European nationalism and imperial rule.

This research question is a reflection on the uniqueness of African nationalism as well as how its development was influenced by its imperialist past. Specifically, by researching on how African nationalism differs from its European counterpart, we could better understand why post-colonial African states drifted to the direction of authoritarianism, rather than liberal democracy as seen in Europe and America. Although the development modern nation-states were marked by nationalism, the overgeneralized concept of “nationalism” cannot explain why nations took different paths. By taking a comparative perspective, we can better understand the profound influence of European imperialism on the identity of African states and how did this identity contribute to the post-colonial development.

When discussing nationalism as a concept, this essay will use a narrower and more modern definition of nationalism, as oppose to projecting such concept into the pre-modern history. That is to say, nationalism is a phenomenon of mass identification of nation states and its people without direct connection to them. Therefore, tribalism, religious empires (like the Islamic empire), and other forms of mass identification not based on a “imaginary” concept of statehood are not considered nationalism for the purpose of this essay.

1. The Origin of Nationalism

a. The Origins of European Nationalism

The European nationalism saw a rapid development from 1850 to 1915. During this time, the Napoleonic France saw a great development in social progress and economy. A unified Italy and Germany was formed under the idea of culture homogeneity and against elite-rule. The increasing expansion of nationalism also led to various wars between nation-states. The later phase of nationalism developed a stronger feeling of national identity and the concept of citizenship.

The European nationalism was first developed under the context of a common language, history, and culture. This self-identified cultural homogeneity is one of the sources for the European nationalism. In the process of nation-building in Italy, a secret society called Young Italy declares that Italians are millions of men who “speak the same language, endowed with the same tendencies, and educated by the same historic tradition” (G. Mazzini, 1907). Mazzini especially argues that by uniting Italy, we could form a government that “safeguard for the interest of all”. Moreover, the development of nationalism was also closely connected with industrialization and urbanization. During the early ages of nationalist movements, the movement was popular among urban middle-class and largely failed due to its limitations on popular support (E. J. Hobsbawm, 1963). However, the rapid development in urban centers and the increase in urban population significantly raised the popularity of various nationalist movements.

In addition, most European nationalist movements also have an undertone of class-struggle (R. F. Leslie, 1963). The middle-class, urban workers strive for nationalism with the prospect to form a nation that represent their interests, as oppose to the elites’. The very idea of forming a nation which “the people” owns its sovereignty implies a class struggle between the working-class majority and the elite, aristocrat minority.

Some scholars also noted the advancement in communication technologies is another catalyzer for the spread of nationalism. The development of printing technology helps the spread of nationalistic ideology as well as the organization of nationalist movements (E. A. Gellner, 1963).

In sum, most European nationalist movement had high popular support as a result of industrialization; external factors like war and foreign threat can also be the cause for nationalism. Technological advancements and urbanization were the main catalyzers of nationalism.

b. The Origins of African Nationalism

            The idea of “liberating all Africans” originated from an “proto-nationalism” (T. Hodgkin, 1963). Such a proto-nationalism is an instinctive resistance to European colonization before the influence of European social traditions and political systems. The process which nationalism was developed in Europe and colonial Africa was different in their nature. According to Tangri, in England and France, as monarchs keep strengthening their power over popes and local barons, they gradually became the “focus for loyalty” (Roger K. Tangri, 1968). Tangri argues that this form of centralized political system created a “national consciousness” and helped the spread of a common language. Nevertheless, he argues that such a situation never appeared in colonial Africa. Africans never “gave their loyalty” or had “attachment” to colonial rulers. This accounted for the lack of national consciousness.

            Additionally, another crucial origin for nationalism is linguistic and cultural homogeneity. Linguistic homogeneity was considered the building-blocks for European national consciousness, and “gradually found expression in political unit” (Roger K. Tangri, 1968). The linguistic factor in the construction of nationalism can be seen in Germany, Italy, Austro-Hungarian and Turkish Empires. However, such linguistic unity was rarely found in colonial Africa. Since European colonists divide colonies arbitrarily without the consideration of cultural and linguistic groups whatsoever, there is little linguistic unity in one colony. For instance, Malawi, a former British colony, has English and Chewa being its official language and seven recognized regional language co-existing.

            The development of African nationalism was based on the national consciousness and a common goal of self-determination (Roger K. Tangri, 1968). They identify with a nation-state not base on a common language or culture, nor a politically constructed loyalty. Rather, they form their national image based on the strive for self-determination. As stated by Lord Hailey, “the population of most of the countries of Africa south of the Sahara consists of people who have been brought together under one form of government by the accidents of history” (Hailey, op. cit., 251.).

2. The Characteristics of Nationalism

a. The Characteristics of European Nationalism

            European nationalism was developed spontaneously as a result of socio-economic and political development. A sense of nationhood and an increasingly strong tie to the monarch was created by the stronger central government at the time. The linguistic or cultural homogenous regions began to seek nationalist movement and the founding of a new nation-state. European nationalism was not only marked by identifying the nation-state, but also with socio-political goals based on popular support. The nationalist movements, nationalism, and nationalist ideologies are distinctively different from one (R. P. Dore, 1963). The nationalistic sentiments and national consciousness started much earlier than the nationalist movements. The nationalist movements, on the other hand, was a populist movement striving for political and economic right by founding a nation-state.

b. The Characteristics of African Nationalism

            The strive for freedom and self-determination, ironically, was based on nationalism – a Western imperial concept. The idea of nation-building, freedom, and equality were all foreign imported concepts. Nevertheless, these were exactly the result of colonialism and imperialism. The insertion of a Western political system into the African society cannot be “cleaned up” with decolonization.

As argued by David Scott, “the crucial point here is not whether natives were included or excluded so much as the introduction of a new game of politics that the colonized would (eventually) be obliged to play if they were to be counted as political” (David Scott, 1999). As he argued, this “new game” of politics was the African nation-state founded upon the modern nationalism. The major limitation of African nationalism is that it employed, and had to employ, the very same political system that colonized them. The legacies from European colonialists include the concept of nation-states, national border, social classes, and nationalism. These legacies “brought Africa into the world economy by external pressure” (Collins, 1963). These “new games” were rarely connected or understood by the African people who were largely agrarian at the time.

The characteristics of African nationalism poses several limitations. African nationalism was forced to accept the European “political games”. The “political games” include both the concept of nation-states as well as the national borders and land divisions. These restrains African nationalism to gain popular support, as cultural and linguistic homogeneity rarely exist within one nation. Moreover, the insertion of a nation-state system from an external power did not made African identify with this newly invented “nation-state”. They are more likely to affiliate with their tribes or linguistic groups, as oppose to the invented concept of a “nation”. These limitations were, by in large, the legacies of European imperialism and bounded the failure of African nationalism.

3. Conclusion

African nationalism is fundamentally different from European nationalism in terms of their origins and characteristics. Using the overgeneralized term “nationalism” on both continents fails to recognize the fact that African nationalism was the product of European imperialism, rather than an internal social movement. The major limitations of African nationalism also came from the legacies of European colonialism. These limitations also deprive African nationalism from developing naturally and spontaneously – though decolonization could be realized, the intangible legacies of colonialization will hardly dissipate.

Bibliography

Colonialism and Nationalism in Africa and Europe, Oxford University Press, No. 24 (Apr., 1963), pp. 65-74,

jstor.org/stable/649842

The Essence, Characteristics and Limitation of Post-Colonialism: From Karl Marx's Point

of View, Geng Yang, Qixue Zhang and Qi Wang, Frontiers of Philosophy in China, Vol. 1, No. 2 (Jun., 2006), pp. 279-294,

jstor.org/stable/30209970

The Rise of Nationalism in Colonial Africa: The Case of Colonial Malawi, Cambridge University Press, Roger K. Tangri, Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 10, No. 2 (Jan.,1968), pp. 142-161,

jstor.org/stable/177726

Decolonization or National Liberation: Debating the End of British Colonial Rule in

Africa, CHEIKH ANTA BABOU, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 632, Perspectives on Africa and the World (November 2010), pp. 41-54

jstor.org/stable/27895947

G. Mazzini, The Duties of Man and Other Essays (London: J. M. Dent and Sons, 1907), pp. 51–54.