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- Location:
- G3
Short Abstract
none
Long Abstract
Individual papers by:
John Boye Ejobowah
Heike Schmidt
Ben Knighton
Accepted papers
Session 1Paper long abstract
In September-October 2005 the Uganda Peoples Defence Force, on behalf of the international drive against terror, raised their operations among the pastoralist Karamojong. On the one hand they continued a longstanding disarmament programme by the charade of inducing some warriors to hand in their guns for new ones lent by the army. On the other hand their camps situated in many locations of the region have again put the soldiers in the position of being a player in the game of cattle-raiding. Increased use of armed personnel carriers has given soldiers a sense of cavalier superiority that led one to transgress on to a sacred grove in Kotido, the district headquarters. This became the ritual focus for protest by local elders, while military conflict broke out up and down Karamoja which has been veiled from public notice by all concerned.
Paper long abstract
One hundred years ago, various societies in German East Africa fought the Maji Maji war, named for maji (water), the war medicine and its messianic message carried by messengers of the Bokero cult which spread the word of the need for resistance. The war, which commenced in July 1905 and in most areas ended as a military conflict in the following year, was mostly directed against the German colonial presence, collaborators with the colonial state, but also individuals perceived to be foreign elements, such as coastal traders in the interior. One area the colonial power was particularly concerned about was the south-west, known as Ungoni or Ssongea District. It was here that the military effort was tremendous. German counter-insurgency brought immense suffering to the African population in the area during the war and its aftermath: The systematic enslavement of women and children; the humiliation on the hands of colonial soldiers, auxiliaries, and their allies; starvation; famine pawning of children; and displacement. However, while the hardships for the majority of the population were immense, this paper argues that at the same time the Maji Maji war and its aftermath also provided opportunities for some to renegotiate their position of marginality as power relations became more fluid. Slaves, youths, and some women experienced at least a moment, and at times life-changing chances, of empowerment. In addition to interviews carried out in Ssongea District, the bulk of the new evidence presented here is located in the archives of the Benedictine mission station Peramiho. The wealth of material, including the chronicles of Peramiho and Kigonsera stations and correspondence by German colonial officials, allows for new insights into the Maji Maji war in Ungoni and for a contribution to the historiography of the war as well as to the wider fields of resistance, slavery, and social stratification in Africa.
Paper long abstract
Writers on failed state give explanatory accounts that emphasize neopatrimonialism, resource curse, corruption etc. This paper goes beyond these interpretations to determine if there is a linkage between political institutionalization of identities and state failure. It accepts that institutional arrangements for conflict reduction could be effective, but it also tries to establish that there are situations in which such arrangements could lead to sustained and widespread violence. To achieve this goal, the paper explains and relates the concept of failed state to the dominant idea about the postcolonial state as 'weak,' 'soft' or a 'lame leviathan'. It then does a case study by examining the institutional arrangements Nigerians designed to make for political inclusion of groups and maintain national unity. It finds that these arrangements turned out to be a source of political disorders that have reduced the ability of the state to register its presence in most parts of the country.