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Explaining Foreign Policy in Post-Colonial Africa Stephen M. Magu Explaining Foreign Policy in Post-Colonial Africa Stephen M. Magu Explaining Foreign Policy in Post-Colonial Africa Stephen M. Magu Political Science & History Norfolk State University Norfolk, VA, USA ISBN 978-3-030-62929-8 ISBN 978-3-030-62930-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-62930-4 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilarmethodology now known or hereafter developed. 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Cover illustration: © Alex Linch shutterstock.com This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Re-dedicated to the brightest star in the constellation, Mary Wanjiku Macharia-Magu, all her children all their/her/my children, for anchoring these turbulent times and sharing the joys of life and work. And to Dr. Akomolafe & departmental colleagues, for taking a chance on future possibilities; To other really special people Tina Thomas (and Andros), Jade Nicquole, the Bellos and Rose. To Ashia Danielle and zeitgeist conversations about the world and spirituality before pandemics. To Lessie, for excellence in everything. To Joy. For friendship, mentoring and ‘my siblings’. To the next generation of leaders and activists I had the pleasure of teaching: to my many students who needed stuff to read Alesha, Alexis, Alicia, Aniyah, Breauna, Deja and thousands more. And to a continent figuring out its future in a most convoluted, post-colonial, post-Cold War, post-pandemic world. Preface This book’s contours were triggered by a NCSU workshop on Civil- Military Relationships in Africa, and Just War theory in pre-colonial African societies. Even while they fought, societies sustained enough diplomatic interactions to facilitate negotiations—peace terms, surrender terms, conduct during war, treatment of prisoners, post-conflict settle- ment and even payment of tributes. The study prepared argued that Just War (theory) existed in African societies just as it did elsewhere. The question was one of systematicity: how did (pre) modern nations agree on parameters of the conduct of conflict? Conventions, e.g., dropping a bladeofgrassindicatedsurrender;someonlyfoughtmen,notwomenand children. Even more prescient, the Numidian (Algeria/Tunisian) Bishop (or Saint) Augustine of Hippo articulated some of the earliest formalized tenetsofJustWar,whichwerealsousedinmanyotherAfricancountries. This was an element of diplomacy. Despite few written accounts of their history, the Ag˜ıku˜yu˜ people, similar to other African societies, conducted the complete spectrum of government and foreign policy. They made war and sued for peace; they traded, conducted diplomacy and entered into alliances. Their history, conquests and setbacks were kept alive through stories, plays, proverbs, age-sets traditions, theatrical, musical and dances, wise sayings and all other manner of education, gave insight into war conduct. They forged alliances, declared wars, negotiated cease-fires, made peace treaties, sent emissaries, received diplomats, and conducted cross-societal marriages in vii viii PREFACE service of peace and diplomacy and alliances, much as Europe did. Some of these were directed at the world-famous Maasai, Akamba, Meru, etc.; diplomacy was alive and well. Back to St. Augustine: who else in Africa fought (mostly everybody), how did they fight (variably: some killed all enemy warriors, women, kids, boys, men; some killed everyone except marriage-age women, some saved all women, children and the elderly). Together, these constituted (just) war conduct. Proceeding thence, it was useful to consider what we knew, didn’t know, and didn’t know we didn’t know. There is much we don’t know aboutpre-colonialAfricansocieties;yetweknowthattheseunitswerenot mere ‘tribes,’ incapable of ‘government.’ Contrariwise, ‘tribes’ collected taxes, enumerated citizenry, recruited and trained armies, had judicial systems with appropriate punishments and judges (elders) selected for wisdomandknowledgeofprecedent.Theyhadexecutiveorgans(council of elders), built infrastructure (roads, earthen works, cities, drainage systems, outposts, irrigation systems, defense positions, grain storage), traded(bartertrade,longdistance—i.e.,exportsandimports),maintained social systems, and issued currency, e.g., cowrie shells, gold, bronze and salt. They made known their practices to others and used reciprocity (Maasai and Kikuyus would cease fighting when one side dropped their spears). In short, diplomacy in the contemporary African nation is not a post-colonial reality. Today, many African countries do not scream, “I am not a regular, modern, Westphalian, bureaucratic state.” Instead, Africa is more…dif- ferent. Bits and bytes have been expended trying to figure out how, and why. Perhaps some explanations might stem from the fact that African states experienced their first instance of centralized, bureaucratic, Westphalian statehood during a decidedly violent colonial occu- pation. It was solely predicated on a preponderance of violence (no rights, no privileges or immunities, just violence, murder, arson and taxes). Further, random lines drawn on a map, disregarding the pre- colonial experience, purported to concoct a modern, European version of the Westphalian state—producing Somalia’s irredentism and an oddly shaped DRC map (southern tip). The residents—not yet citizens—were now supposed to get along and bury their perceived differences. The MaasaiofKenya/Tanzania,theirnomadiclifestyleandhabitatsharedwith wildlife, show little regard for borders or passports. Whatever utility such states served, they magnified division and conflict, fostering the need for diplomacy all around. PREFACE ix Granted,thisisquitethe quantumleap,toimplythatsincepre-colonial African societies utilized diplomacy, modern African nations have foreign policy positions and further, that there is an African foreign policy posi- tion. These probabilities lend themselves to other avenues of analysis. ThequestionofwhatcommonforeignpositionswereadoptedbyAfrican nationseitherinPan-Africansolidarityorasindividualnationsareworthy scholarly endeavors. More specifically, African colonial nations, adminis- tered either as part of the French Empire or as no-status territories by other European powers, would soon become free, join a universe of bi- and multilateral diplomacy, former colonizers casting shadows over their future,butalsofightingtoliberateespeciallythesouthernAfricancolonies andterritoriesstillunderapartheid.Itwasinevitable,thatthejointprefer- encesforAfrica’scompleteliberationintersectedbutthatcollectiveaction had a better chance of forcing a greater reckoning with colonialism. This was the beginning of elements of a common African foreign policy, the subject of this treatise. Norfolk, USA Stephen M. Magu Acknowledgments Completing this manuscript, which was under research and preparation in the years preceding the most consequential issue of our time, the 100-year, COVID-19 pandemic, was taxing. Despite the disruptions, the steep learning curve and the circumstances that required us to learn and adapt to the new ‘language’ of social-distancing, PPE, masks, Zoom, BB Collaborate, a/synchronous teaching and learning and reminded us of the beauty (and peril) of in-person human interactions, some of the amazing people around me deserve a mention. I am grateful to NCSU’s SPIA for the invite to the Civil-Military Relationships in Africa workshop that helped shape these ideas. I recognize the SERSAS/SEAN conferences,whichhavebecomeaplaceofcamaraderie,friendship,colle- gial collaborations and scholarly critiques to make research and knowl- edge a most productive undertaking. I am indebted to the Tuskegee Colleagues, especially Dr. Ndi, for your research and career insights and faith in the continent. I am grateful to colleagues, especially Joy, Mamie, Mike,MohammedandRobertfor…everything.IamgratefultoMaureen (MEL), for embodying the very best of us and for the amazing things you will do. My eternal gratitude to Catherine (CLP) for insight, colle- giality, critique, academic road trips with stops in some of the most inter- estingplacesintheseUnitedStates,andforconferenceflightstorandom citiesandrandomstopstootherconferencesandeverythingyoudid—and amazing pictures of Grover. xi Contents 1 The Beginning of a Post-colonial Foreign Policy in Africa 1 2 Conceptual Approaches to Foreign Policy and Application to African Countries 19 3 Politics of Geography, Statehood, Residual Colonization and Territorial Integrity 61 4 Africa Huru! Complex Events—Cold War, Residual Colonization and Apartheid 99 5 Nation vs. Continent: Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity and Rebellion 153 6 Made in Europe: Breaking Nations, Secession Movements and OAU Responses 193 7 Region or Continent: O/AU Development and Regional Economic Communities 231 xiii