Despite the fact that nationalism and its national projects have in recent years been severely criticised by postcolonial theorists for being fundamentalist and essentialist; by feminists for being patriarchal and exclusive; by global financial institutions for being antagonistic to development and globalisation; by Pan-Africanists for being anticontinental unity; and by those Africans born after decolonisation for being irrelevant; Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Finex Ndhlovu's book convincingly argues that nationalism has defied its death and displayed remarkable resilience and resonance. Since the end of the Cold War, what has been poignant has been the enduring contest, tensions and contradictions between the growth of various forms of transnationalism on the one hand and a resurgence of territorial as well as other narrow and xenophobic forms of nationalism on the other. In this important book, Ndlovu-Gatsheni and Ndhlovu provide new critical reflections on nationalism and its national projects in southern Africa covering South Africa, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC, a member of SADC). The national question is interrogated from different disciplinary vantage points to reveal how it impinges on contemporary challenges of nation-building, development, devolution of power, language questions, and citizenship on the one hand and ethnicity, nativism and xenophobia on the other.

Do South Africans Exist? Addresses a gap in contemporary studies of nationalism and the nation, providing a critical study of South African nationalism against a broader context of African nationalism in general. Narratives of resistance, telling of African peoples oppressed and exploited, presume that ‘the people’ preceded the period of nationalist struggle. This book explores how an African ‘people’ came into being in the first place, particularly in the South African context, as a collectivity organised in pursuit of a political – and not simply cultural – end. The author argues that the nation is a political community whose form is given in relation to the pursuit of democracy and freedom, and that if democratic authority is lodged in 'the people', what matters is the way that this 'people' is defined, delimited and produced. He argues that the nation precedes the state, not because it has always existed, but because it emerges in and through the nationalist struggle for state power. Ultimately, he encourages the reader to re-evaluate knee-jerk judgements about the failure of modernity in Africa.

Africa is well known for the production of national liberation movements (NLMs), stemming from a history of exploitation, colonisation and slavery. NLMs are generally characterised by a struggle carried out by or in the name of suppressed people for political, social, cultural, economic, territorial liberation and decolonisation. Dozens of NLMs have ascended to state power in Africa following a successful violent popular struggle either as an outright military victory or a negotiated settlement. National Liberation Movements as Government in Africa analyses the performance of NLMs after they gain state power. The book tracks the initial promises and guiding principles of NLMs against their actual record in achieving socio-economic development goals such as peace, stability, state building and democratisation. The book explores the various different struggles for liberation, whether against European colonialism, white minority rule, neighbouring countries, or for internal reform or regime change. Bringing together case studies from Somalia, Somaliland, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Algeria, the book builds a comprehensive analysis of the challenges NLMs face when ascending to state power, and why so many ultimately end in failure. This is an ideal resource for scholars, policy makers and students with an interest in African development, politics, and security studies.

Interrogating Xenophobia and Nativism in Twenty-First-Century Africa interrogates xenophobia and nativism in Africa and how they hamper the realisation of Pan-Africanism. The contributors examine migration in Africa, immigration policies and politics, and the social impacts and history of xenophobia and nativism in African life and culture. Through their analyses, the contributors explore how xenophobia and nativism have impacted the Pan-Africanism movement. The book also offers suggestions for reducing xenophobia and nativism in Africa, including bettering immigration policies and creating socioeconomic structures that would enrich the public and help prevent the pervasive belief that immigrants usurp limited opportunities for the poor in the countries they immigrate to.

This book considers the work of the preeminent scholar on decoloniality, Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni, as a means of examining the development of decoloniality discourse and considering the future direction of the African knowledge economy. Sabelo Ndlovu-Gatsheni has been instrumental in the construction of theories and ideas necessary for advancing a decolonial system of education and epistemology. This book considers how Professor Ndlovu-Gatsheni’s work has helped to shape our thinking both on Mugabe and the history of Zimbabwe, and beyond to the broader questions of race, liberation, higher education, and the future of decolonial studies. Renowned author Professor Toyin Falola then invites us to consider the dangers of continued repression of African epistemologies, and the enormous benefits of an alternative knowledge economy in which a diverse multiplicity of ideas drives our understanding of the world on to new heights. Unpacking the various conceptual leanings of decoloniality through the works of one of its leading lights, this book will be an essential read for researchers across the fields of African Studies, Race Studies, Philosophy, and Education.