The infamous Scramble for Africa resulted in random and unlikely borders that remain today. The West partitioned territory for the sake of its short-term goal of influence or mastery. They gave little thought to the long-running consequences for the Africans themselves. This arbitrary carving up of Africa, the colonial policy of divide and rule, and the resultant segmental cleavages in most post-colonial African states may be blamed for the horizontal inequalities, conflicts, and insecurity rampant since independence. In Uganda, as in many other African countries, the most evident of such cleavages have been tribal and ethnic. Recently there have been calls for constitutional reform that would devolve power to the tribal regions and revive the idea of federalism which was the organizing principle in the immediate aftermath of independence. This book highlights the dynamics of ethnic politics in the post-independence sub-Saharan setting in general and the background, meaning, and relevance of the debate on ethnic federalism in Uganda, in particular. Part of the book covers Vick Lukwago Ssalis own experiences growing up in an independent but troubled Uganda. However, its central thesis is based on the voices of selected samples of ordinary people in ten different tribal areas of Uganda and what they comparatively think about the issue of federalism. Is their loyalty growing towards the centre or fading outwards from the troubled state to their integral traditional and cultural units?

How federalism can be used to provide recognition and accommodate ethnic groups is an important topic, not only in Africa, but in multi-ethnic communities around the world. Examining how institutions of multi-ethnic states have been designed to accommodate ethnic diversity while at the same time maintaining national unity, this book locates institutional responses to the challenges of ethnic diversity within the context of a federal arrangement. It examines how a federal arrangement has been used to reconcile the conflicting pressures of the demand for the recognition of distinctive identities, on the one hand, and the promotion of political and territorial integrity, on the other. Comparative case studies of South Africa and Ethiopia as the two federal systems provide a contrasting approach to issues of ethnic diversity. Suggesting new ways in which federalism might work, the author identifies key institutions lessons which will help to build an all-inclusive society.

Effects on the violence

Studies of African economic development frequently focus on the daunting challenges the continent faces. From recurrent crises to ethnic conflicts and long-standing corruption, a raft of deep-rooted problems has led many to regard the continent as facing many hurdles to raise living standards. Yet Africa has made considerable progress in the past decade, with a GDP growth rate exceeding five percent in some regions. The African Successes series looks at recent improvements in living standards and other measures of development in many African countries with an eye toward identifying what shaped them and the extent to which lessons learned are transferable and can guide policy in other nations and at the international level. The first volume in the series, African Successes: Governments and Institutions considers the role governments and institutions have played in recent developments and identifies the factors that enable economists to predict the way institutions will function.

Katharine Adeney demonstrates that institutional design is the most important explanatory variable in understanding the different intensity and types of conflict in the two countries rather than the role of religion. Adeney examines the extent to which previous constitutional choices explain current day conflicts.