Votes, Money and Violence: Political parties and elections in sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Matthias Basedau, Gero Erdmann, and Andreas Mehler

摘要

Indians and emphasizes that ‘conflicts – such as those seen where race, nationalism,nand education are concerned – are simply part of the ongoing creation of Tanzaniannsociety’ (p. 180). The current situation in Zimbabwe, lucidly discussed by BriannRaftopoulos, indicates that national identity is instrumentally deployed against allnother forms of identification and belonging.nIn the last part of the book Neville Alexander, in an elegantly written piece, pointsnto the fact that notions of identity need to incorporate ‘more modern understandingsnof flux, hybridity and change’ (p. 217), while Will Reno rethinks warlord politicsnby considering citizenship in relation to resource control and violence. CrawfordnYoung’s instructive final remarks emphasize the relationship between concepts ofnidentity and territory and, as a result, conflicts.nAcross the African continent the conflicting dimensions of citizenship, nationality,nand ethnicity often lead to exclusion, marginalization, and racism. However, asndemonstrated by some of the contributions, it may also simply be part of the creationnof a society. Despite the last chapter by Young, most chapters only looselynconnect to the volume’s opening reflections on the permanence of the Africannstate. A concluding chapter by the editors might have remedied this weakness.nRegardless of this, Making Nations, Creating Strangers is a valuable sourcebook fornstudents and scholars interested in current discussions on citizenship in differentnAfrican states and its relations to colonial and pre-colonial circumstances. It providesnstimulating reading and a starting point for future research on the constructionnof multiple identities, the negotiation of statehood, and the quest for ‘Africannalternatives’.