Ethnic Cleansing in Africa: Territory, History, and Religion

Introduction

Can past and present campaigns for ethnic cleansing among some African tribes be attributed to illiteracy? While empirical evidence offers some support for the idea that illiteracy may contribute marginally to ethnic cleansing, it is not the primary impetus behind mass genocide. Research shows that campaigns for ethnic cleansing among certain African tribes cannot be entirely prevented through the eradication of illiteracy alone, because of territorial conflicts, historical grievances, and religious intolerance. Shaw (2003) notes that historically, territorial grievances and religious intolerance are among the top reasons for ethnic cleansing throughout the world. Consider the case of Hitler, where mass ethnic cleansing reached its peak primarily for reasons of religious intolerance, with secondary factors including history and territorial imperialism. It is critical to gather qualitative evidence supporting this theory in order to attempt to salvage what little hope remains for African nations that still struggle under the threat of extinction due to political regimes intent on annihilating entire peoples.

This paper examines the causes of such cleansing — or "extinction" — in greater detail, with particular emphasis on territory, history, and religion, in order to provide historical context for ethnic cleansing in Africa and among African tribes. An overview of ethnic cleansing, a synopsis of the problem, and a conclusion are provided.

Ethnic Cleansing Overview

There are many instances of ethnic cleansing throughout history among African tribes, each with specific links to territorial arguments, religious intolerance, or historical causes. While there is literature supporting illiteracy as a plausible contributing cause, it is not cited as a primary cause. Shaw (2003) notes that war and ethnic cleansing — or genocide — often go hand in hand. Throughout history, genocide and ethnic cleansing have frequently accompanied each other. Factors influencing genocide include political, socio-economic, and religious causes (Shaw, 2003).

Is this the case among African tribes? Hodgson (2002) and Sambanis (2000) suggest that ethnic cleansing has historically been problematic among indigenous peoples. Problems including imperialism and territorial struggles have long created conditions that facilitate the extinguishing of smaller or less powerful indigenous tribes (Hodgson, 2002; Sambanis, 2000). In many countries, this can result from a need to gather resources, power, or political control over a region. Illiteracy may also be a factor when indigenous peoples do not speak or read the language of the conquering group. Consider the most well-known instance of ethnic cleansing — that which occurred in Germany. In that case, religious factors were the most obvious cause, but political, economic, cultural, and other factors certainly contributed to the genocide (Shaw, 2003). It is likely that illiterate individuals may actually have been spared during that period, as they were seen as less of a threat. However, among tribal peoples, illiteracy may prove dangerous, as political motives penetrate civil organizations and push through causes that harm ethnic minorities — particularly poor ethnic minorities in conflict with wealthier ones (Abdul-Jalil, 2006). The political agenda for eradicating indigenous populations may include the pursuit of power and control over natural resources within a region.

Olsson and Siba (2010) conduct an analysis of the ethnic cleansing campaign in Darfur, noting that the local struggle exists because of dwindling natural resources — particularly between "African farmers and Arab herders" — rather than resulting from illiteracy. This is an example of conflict rooted in territorial disputes, a problem that has historically plagued many ethnic groups. The researchers explore government attacks on more than 500 civilian villages during counter-insurgency campaigns beginning in 2003, noting that attacks targeted villages dominated by rebel tribes and that resource variables — particularly water and land quality — were the primary reasons for ethnic cleansing. Many authors support the notion that the drive to capture valuable resources was a primary reason political parties and militias engaged in ethnic cleansing programs (Hodgson, 2002; Emenyonu, 2008; Mann, 2005).

Mann (2005), a prominent sociologist, claims that different stages of political participation in fascism are partly to blame for ethnic cleansing. He states that historically, when authoritarian regimes break down, a scramble for power ensues with everyone "trying to exclude somebody else — with the 'else' being defined along ethnic lines" — which is often the case in Africa (p. 2). The author further notes that genocide is a modern phenomenon, typically the "darker side" of democracy, often resulting when minorities are tyrannized. Traditionally, a democracy is established so that the majority of people are represented; but this can mean that the majority consists of people who are literate, well-off, and organized along ethnic and nationalist principles. Features of democracy may actually support ethnic cleansing as people become tempted to "annihilate the enemy," which may include an entire people who are illiterate, uneducated, poor, and underserved (Mann, 2005, p. 2).

Mann argues that many democratized regimes have been linked to mass murder. Chua (2004) supports this view, noting that democratization is in fact more likely to foster ethnic cleansing than authoritarian governments, because while authoritarian governments may weaken multi-ethnic cities and nations, the principles underlying democracy can sometimes lead to the idea that enemy minorities exist — creating dictatorships disguised as democracies. This is typically only the case with newly formed democracies, however, not stabilized ones, because stabilization results in elections, "rule by the majority," and "constitutional guarantees for minorities" (Mann, p. 4). But does this really protect the minority? Typically, political instability and factionalizing — such as that occurring in the Hutus' state of Rwanda — results, as Mann (2005) notes, in the repression of dissidents and a form of factionalism similar to the Nazi state (p. 4). This in turn can result in failed political states, civil wars as occurred in the Congo, and ethnic cleansing at its worst (Mann, 2005).

Is this the result of illiteracy? It is not so much the result of illiteracy as it is the result of a "perceived ethnic threat" and a "carefully planned solution in terms of either compromise or straightforward repression" (Mann, 2005, p. 7). The political parties in power desire to overcome any obstacle to their vision of ideal leadership and to suppress ideologies that oppose the majority. The simplest way to do so is to cleanse from society that which is perceived as undesirable.

Cleansing undesirable elements from African tribes may include removing religiously unfavorable candidates, or — based on historical precedent — removing individuals who opposed predominant political parties or who were not represented among the elite. The individuals perpetrating violence against the innocent typically include: (1) "radical elites," (2) "bands of militants," and (3) "core constituencies providing mass popular support" (Mann, p. 9). This is not always the case, however, because leaders are not always the ones responsible for ethnic cleansing. Sometimes top-down power results in cleansing, while other times peer pressure and coercion from social movements can produce the same outcome; the full picture is complex (Mann, 2005, p. 9). The factors contributing in these instances include violence, "nationalism and statism" (Mann, p. 9). Individual participants in the movement may feel their borders are threatened, experience class conflicts, or feel that to be accepted they must embrace ethnic cleansing and physical violence as a way of life, or be attracted to a "machismo ideology" (Mann, 2005, p. 10).

Territorial Conflicts, History, and Religious Conflict

Emenyonu (2008) expands on these ideas, suggesting that ethnic cleansing in Africa is not so much the result of illiteracy as it is the result of what he calls an "identity crisis" that exists because of the "quiet agony of imperial humiliation left to the new generation of African leaders and many new-breed post-colonial intellectuals" (p. 2). Many Africans, he states, hunt for paradigms of what their country should be in a place where they feel ethnically exiled. They live a colonial "mentality" in a place that should be home and suffer a "confusion of abuse for a bullish ex-master and the disparaging of the befuddled indigenous replacement that disdains his own cultural base" (p. 1). This accurately describes the dilemma of the African citizen — someone afflicted with an inability to articulate his or her own condition, which is nothing more than a reflection of the impact of prolonged warfare in Africa and its effect on the human spirit. Emenyonu points out that territorial conflicts, historical grievances, and religious conflicts are not relics of the past; they still haunt many African nations today. This is true of South Africa, the Congo, Angola, Algeria, Rwanda, Mozambique, Uganda, Kenya, and more. Emenyonu (2008) states that many countries remain perpetually "bound to violence" (p. 2).

The author notes that the history of South Africa and imperial ambitions, and the consequent "suffering of the black nations," has not ended, as they continue "to pay the price of aboriginality and of land ownership with a chequered history of instability and constant turmoil" (p. 3). Zimbabwe is described as a "product of the imperial adventurer" (p. 3). "War and conquest" are further themes used to characterize Africa when one attempts to describe the complex problem of finding an "identity" for the African man or woman caught up in a legacy and "heritage of conquest and imperialism" that continues even today (Emenyonu, 2008).

Emenyonu suggests that the legacy of Cecil Rhodes continues to haunt the African continent, with many Africans struggling to redefine themselves and answer questions of what freedom means and where they belong. In Nigeria, religious rioting remains a perpetual "dance" (Emenyonu, 2008). It is a nation described as drowning in "excess" and political "dysfunctionality," resulting in a "turbulent and volatile population that is still disproportionately inadequate" (Emenyonu, 2008, p. 4). Mann (2005) and others note that no one is immune to "cleansing" ideology — all people are capable of evil. In Africa, for example, religious missionaries go to "save" people from their sins, and this itself can be a form of ethnic cleansing — the assumption that one method of living is superior to another. Chua (2004) supports this argument, noting that "where inequality is linked to ethnicity," ethnic hatreds and superiority ideologies are more likely to emerge.

Abdul-Jalil (2006) notes that the escalation of political and religious conflicts can sometimes be observed even in educational facilities, where schoolteachers have "led to the escalation of conflict by furthering ethnic polarization in the region" (p. 24). Government often intervenes in civil society organizations and schools, and this can lead to "tenuous" relationships between civil and political institutions. A government's preference for one ethnic group over another can reinforce favoritism, which may be deeply detrimental to a country (Abdul-Jalil, 2006). In such instances, political interference may increase tensions and raise the likelihood of ethnic cleansing.

References

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