African Identities and International Politics

Front matter

African Identities and International Politics

Using the lenses of realism, liberalism, the English School and constructivism, this book explains how the divisions and differences in African identities affect African international politics.

This book explores the African condition in the twenty-first century. It analyses how geographical, racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious and power differences shape continental and intercontinental relations in Africa through the creation of identities and values which militate against intra-continental or regional relations. The author assesses inclusionary and exclusionary, rational and irrational relationships, interactions and non-interactions which occur between geographical, linguistic, racial and religious entities in Africa. He suggests that, in these moments, one entity will negatively relate, interact or refuse to interact with another entity for the gains of the former and to the detriment of the latter or even to the detriment of both entities. Divided into two parts, the first part of the book employs an ecumenical approach to discuss the divisions and differences that disunite Africa as a continent and Africans as a people and how they affect African international politics. Part II goes on to explore how this ‘othering’ can be superseded by non-discriminatory, unifying and positive identities and values.

Index

List of illustrations

Figures 6.1 The reality-ideal spectrum 90 7.1 The equilibrium and adaptation twin-strategy 113 Table

6.1 The Westphalianism-internationalism-cosmopolitanism trajectory 78

Acknowledgements

I owe a lot of debt to those whose help made this book possible. I received priceless help from Professor Wale Adebanwi without whom this book would not have been possible. He mentored me at the University of Oxford and taught me what it means to do ‘proper’ research and what it means to be a ‘proper’ scholar. In spite of the countless works he had to do, he always created space and time for me in order to ensure my development. He showed me ‘the way’, the lessons he taught me will always show me ‘the way’ and I aspire to be worthy to follow ‘the way’. I am immensely and eternally grateful to him.

Another person I am immensely and eternally grateful to is Professor Tor Ivar Hanstad. Throughout my time at the Arctic University of Norway, he was always very supportive as the head of my department. In spite of the disruption caused by COVID-19, he ensured that my research was not disrupted. Before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, he was always the right leader, and during the lockdown he remained the right leader.

The ideas in this book began life during my time as: Senior Member, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford; Academic Visitor, African Studies Centre, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford; and Visiting Research Fellow, Department of International History, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Apart from my time at the University of Oxford and LSE, I also benefitted from my time as: the leader of the Developing World — Global South research unit of the Globalizing Minority Rights research group at the Arctic University of Norway. The Terje and Valerie Stalder Jacobsen Research Fund (UiT, Norway) was generous to sponsor the fellowship within which I did some of the research for this book.

I completed some chapters during my time as a Visiting Professor at the Centre for Studies in Ethics and Politics, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University of Milan. While I completed the remainder of the book during my time as the Cmelikova Visiting International Scholar, Jepson School of Leadership Studies, University of Richmond, Virginia.

I owe all the above institutions, and the special people at the institutions, a lot of gratitude. To the special people who created an ‘enabling environment’

Acknowledgements ix for me to do the research for this book, I am grateful. And to the institutions, for being the places where I had the ‘enabling environment’, I am grateful.

Finally, this book is based on my article: Abumere, Frank Aragbonfoh. “Introducing Normativity in African International Politics”, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies 47, no. 3 (2020): 342 — 360 (copyright © South African Association of Political Studies, reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Ltd, http://www.tandfonline.com on behalf of South African Association of Political Studies). I am grateful to Taylor and Francis, and the South African Association of Political Studies for granting me the permission to reproduce the article in this book.