Religion und Politik im nachmodernen Afrika

摘要

The resurgence of religion and its return into politics has accelerated the decline of African states. As the Sharia conflict in Nigeria illustrates,Muslims and Christians have begun organizing their communities according to their own divine rules, without respect to the laws of the state. Citizens of different faiths no longer share legal and moral principles which might serve as a common ground to regulate their co-existence. Conflicts cannot be solved by democratic majority decisions but, at best, by negotiations between religious and ethnic elites. Compromises reached in this way are, however, not stable and reliable, as they are not based on rules of fairness and reciprocity but on shifting power relationships.