"Academic China History" is a comparative study of three post-colonial African countries

　　Dmitri M. Bondarenko, Deputy Director and Professor, Institute of African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, covers cultural evolution, political anthropology, contemporary intercultural interaction, sub-Saharan Africa, and his works include Axial Age in World History: Lessons from the 21st Century.

　　Tanzania, Zambia and Uganda are the three most important historical and cultural factors in the process of state-building in post-colonial African countries that deserve in-depth discussion. Tanzania is closer to the traditional Form of European State than any other country in Africa, also known as the modern European model, in which its citizens live in the same society, share the same system of values, and share the same national and cultural background. They argue that common national citizenship is higher than individual and local identity, and that loyalty to the nation-state as a whole is more important than regional, religious, ethnic, and other divisions. But, compared to Tanzania, local identity is more important for the vast majority of post-colonial powers, including Zambia and Uganda. In our view, this remarkable difference is caused by historical reasons, which are related to the peculiarities of their past history, that is, the history of the pre-colonial and colonial periods, and their interpretation of history during the period of independence.

　　In contrast to Zambia and Uganda, in Tanzania, the socio-cultural foundations that are rooted in the minds of the vast majority of the population today were formed long before the establishment of the colonial regime, and the socio-cultural basis referred to here is Swahili culture and its written language. On this basis, the national consciousness of Tanzanians has been deepening, mainly reflected in almost all indigenous people. For Tanzanians, Swahili culture and its language are the source and foundation of the Tanzanian nation, so in their view, the formation of the Tanzanian nation is not attributed to Europeans and European colonialism. The fact that the Swahilis in the coastal areas are still a small ethnic group to this day, and it is an undeniable historical fact that their culture and language did not begin to spread widely until the 19th century. In addition, The spread of Swahili culture and language was also contributed by European missionaries, who often preached in Swahili and used Swahili as the language of instruction in church schools. In addition, Swahili culture and Swahili have absorbed many medieval and modern Arabic elements. However, a large proportion of Tanzanians today, regardless of origin and religion, proudly consider themselves to be the inheritors of Swahili culture, that it is indigenous, purely African and has nothing to do with colonial legacies, and thus argues that indigenous "tribes" should place civic identity above local identity (rather than discarding local identity) and unite as a Tanzanian national. Swahili culture is not only the basis for the formation of the Tanzanian nation, but also a means of building the country for tanzania in the years after independence. Its official ideology is based on the "Ujama Theory" proposed by the country's first president, Julius Nyerere. This has largely deepened the public's understanding of the formation and origins of the Tanzanian nation, rather than seeing it as a legacy of colonialism. This linguistic policy, which is directly related to the state ideology, consolidates the status of Swahili as the official language, and its implementation has gradually awakened the faith of its citizens in the long-term quest for independence of the Tanzanian nation. Native Swahili and Swahili cultures have been around the country since the pre-colonial era and began to spread throughout the country during the early colonial period, making Tanzania one of the lucky exceptions.

　　However, like most post-colonial countries, especially African countries, Zambia and Uganda do not have similar cornerstones of national unity, and they lack regional cultures that can play a similar role. The integration of modern Zambia and Ugandan ethnic groups began precisely during the colonial period and was the result of the influence of colonialism. Similarly, the historical and cultural foundations of the Zambian and Ugandan peoples can only be regarded as the socio-cultural heritage of colonialism, including English, the language of the former colonial powers. Many respondents in these countries said that people living here have similar cultures and traditions and speak similar languages; Wait a minute. However, none of them would say that they all share the same indigenous culture, unlike Tanzanians, who come from different ethnic groups who consider themselves to be the inheritors of Swahili culture, and that the vast majority of Tanzanian respondents feel that the Tanzanian nation can be considered a single ethnic group, while most Zambia and Uganda respondents believe that their country is made up of many ethnic groups with different languages and cultures. In this category of countries, the Government first needs to unite people and, secondly, to strengthen the weak sense of cultural unity, which has begun to emerge only within the former colonial realm and is based on the language of the former colonial metropolis. From a country-building perspective, Zambia and Uganda therefore have one more constraint than Tanzania. In the pre-colonial period, with the exception of the Kingdom of Champakha, there was no centralized expansionist political formation in the territory of Tanganyika on the Tanzanian mainland. If more of these political formations had emerged, they would have been likely to become centres of tribalism, ethno-regionalism or separatism in the post-colonial period and awaken the historical memory of the surrounding ethnic groups of their ancestors who were now their own people during the period of secession. In Tanzania, the resistance of relatively weak chiefs was easily suppressed at the beginning of the country's independence, so they were not representatives of the forces opposing the construction of the state. Meanwhile, in Zambia, at least four such regimes arose during the pre-colonial period, namely Bemba, Baroque, Lenda and Chuva. Especially after the declaration of independence, the leaders of both Bemba and Baroze tried to ensure the political dominance of their people in the country. Zambia's first president, Kenneth Kaunda, made many efforts to gain the upper hand, including repressive measures and the allocation of top government positions. However, with the country's transition to a multi-party system in the 1990s, ethnic issues re-emerged, and the country established multiple political parties on the basis of race.

　　Another projection of postcolonial modernity during Zambia's pre-colonial period is the question of the autonomy granted to the Baroc region, which had been a major concern for the government since its inception. Since 1962, Tanzanian law has no longer recognized the authority of chiefs, even before Tanganyika and Zanzibar unified the United Republic of Tanzania. However, the 1996 Constitution of Zambia announced the re-establishment of the House of Faits of the National Parliament, which had been abolished by Kaunda. As one of the members put it, the Falekaupule is trying to influence all areas of the country's public and political life, both at the regional and national levels, and even though the privileges it is granted are limited to so-called "traditional issues", village chiefs and district chiefs are very influential figures within their competence. For example, when mining companies and even large multinational corporations intend to develop land controlled by chieftains, they will inevitably pass this hurdle. In Uganda, on the eve of Britain's declaration of the country as its protectorate, there were still four kingdoms that controlled the political situation everywhere: the most powerful kingdom of Ganda, the kingdom of Banyoro of the Nyorro, the kingdom of Ancole of the Niyankolais, and the Toro of the Toro people. While many respondents in these countries sincerely stated that they were proud to be a Ugandan, and that Ugandan identity was important to them, almost all emphasized their ethnicity. This is especially true of the Ganda people, many of whom consider the Ganda people to be the central ethnic group of Ugandans, whether geographically, politically, historically or culturally. It is even said that The Gandas created the civilization of other tribes in modern Uganda, and it is they who have inherited ugandan culture and civilization. President Apollo Obert repealed traditional statutes in the first year after overthrowing the country's former president, while deposing King Edward Mutsa II of Uganda in 1966. Idi Amin, who later succeeded Obote, also refused to restore the throne. However, the reinstatement of the throne was officially proclaimed shortly after the incumbent President, Yuweri Museveni, came to power in 1986, and many different levels of power coexisted in Uganda, with the King of Uganda being the most influential national-level ruler.

　　Another important cultural factor influencing the formation of the nation is the religious situation of the country, which is also characterized by the history of pre-colonial and colonial Africa. Taken together, the situation in all three countries is different. Even the so-called "traditional" religions of the three countries, or indigenous religions, can be replaced by world religions such as Christianity and Islam, and then exist only in the form of dual faith in some remote areas. At the same time, both Christianity and Islam have many branches, large and small. In Tanzania, Islam had its place long before European colonialism brought predominantly Catholic, Lutheran and Anglican Christianity. There is no authoritative verdict on the current number of Christians and Muslims in Tanzania, as the country prohibits official statistics on religious beliefs in the census. But Christians and Muslims make up about 60 percent and 35 percent of the country's population. Despite the growing tensions, relations between Muslims and Christians remain quite harmonious in Tanzania. In terms of reasons, on the one hand, the government's policy is a major reason, as early as when the country had just declared its independence, it preached its non-religious position, and the official would not give priority to any religious group. On the other hand, the socio-cultural identity of Tanzania is also a reason. First, in all religious, social and ethnic groups in Tanzania, family bonds still play a major role today, although everyone's relatives are both Christian and Muslim. Secondly, and because of the first reason, there is no distinction between Muslims and Christians in mainland Tanzania, and both faiths exist simultaneously in almost all ethnic groups. Finally, the special socio-cultural attribute of the family further facilitates the integration of Muslims and Christians into the Tanzanian nation, which is what the majority of citizens of different religious beliefs in Swahili culture have in common, and on which the country was formed.

　　In Uganda, Islam also preceded Christianity, although still later than it emerged in Tanzania, but today Christians, predominantly Catholics, Anglicans and Pentecostals, are far more numerous than Muslims, accounting for 85 per cent of the total population. According to the 2014 census, the proportion of Muslims in the country is low, at only 14 percent. Our fieldwork shows that the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Uganda is also delicate. However, as in Tanzania, they are relatively harmonious. Uganda's religious policy differs from Tanzania's, which refused to favor any religion during the Nyerere period; Under Museveni's leadership, Uganda established a cross-religious commission, although it did not cover all denominations in the country, so joining the committee meant that the religious organization had the status of official national accreditation and support, a policy that reflected the lower level of integration of Ugandans into the country than Tanzanians and exacerbated their divisions over religion.

　　Compared to Tanzania and Uganda, Zambia's Christians make up 96 per cent of the population. In view of this, from 1991 to 2002, then-President Frederick Chiluba directly referred to Zambia as a "Christian state" and sought to achieve a religiously based national unity. In 1996, the country also incorporated the provisions of Zambia as a Christian state into the country's existing new constitution. At the same time, Chiluba's excessive trust in Pentecostal evangelists has long been a source of resentment among the Anglican, Presbyterian, Catholic and other sub-members, which has long been a deep-rooted problem in Zambia. It turns out that the different sects in Zambia have different views on the so-called "Christian country", and their respective leaders have waged a fierce political struggle to this end. Thus, the diversity of religious identities does not prevent Tanzania from developing a unified national identity, at least today, but it does not contribute to the formation of a unified national identity in Uganda, and Zambia's attempts to establish a Christian state have not yet succeeded.

　　So our view, and the main argument, is that, as a result, the difference in the state-building of Tanzania, Zambia, and Uganda is due to the huge differences in their pre-colonial and colonial history, as well as in the degree of dependence and use of history during the independence period. If we look at the post-colonial countries as a whole, it is important to note that the vast majority of them, particularly in Africa, do not have a unified indigenous culture and language like the Swahili culture of Tanzania. Given the greater advantage of its historical background, Tanzania today would be closer to a country than Zambia or Uganda to adapt to Western modernity. Based on Europe's historical experience, we can see that Tanzania has better prospects for nation-building. But, in the long run, in the context of the rise of multiculturalism and in the context of a major shift in the perception of the social reality of a modern state, we cannot jump to conclusions, despite their obvious limitations, including nationalism. But if it's about building a multicultural nation, Zambia and Uganda's positions may be equally advantageous, and perhaps they can build stronger post-colonial states than Tanzania. In the post-colonial powers, the task of building a modern state according to the model of the modern European state has been proposed, even if they face enormous construction difficulties. That is to say, if the state-building of Zambia, Uganda and most of the post-colonial countries is not based on a single integrated culture, but is based on a multiculturalist context, are their prospects for development in the current global situation less clear than tanzania? Moreover, in countries such as Zambia and Uganda, the main watershed lies in the cultural differences between the indigenous ethnic groups, which make up the vast majority of the local population, which are not as pronounced as those between indigenous groups and many immigrant groups, while in modern Western countries, the differences between the two constitute a major cultural contradiction. Today, we don't have a fixed answer to our question, because the prospects for Western multiculturalism are also unknown. But in any case, it is time for us to ask this question.

Source: China Social Science Network - China Social Science Daily Author: Dmitri M. Bondarenko