Trying to Rally Citizens around Authorities: Neotraditionalism and Nation-building in Postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa 1

In post-colonial states, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa, an appeal to the historical past for the construction of national identity acquires great importance. It becomes important especially due to the failed attempts to copy political models based on European theories and experience and theref...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPsihologia sociala no. 52; pp. 39 - 54
Main Author Bondarenko, Dmitri M
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Iasi Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Psychology Department 01.01.2023
Subjects
Colonialism
Consciousness
History
Nation building
National identity
Postcolonialism
Society
Africa
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Summary:In post-colonial states, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa, an appeal to the historical past for the construction of national identity acquires great importance. It becomes important especially due to the failed attempts to copy political models based on European theories and experience and therefore turning to "neotraditionalism" as an ideological basis in an attempt to rally citizens around authorities. What makes it possible is the eclecticism of public consciousness and collective picture of the world generated by colonialism and strengthened by the transformations of the postcolonial era. Neotraditional relationships, of course, do not absorb all the diversity of types of relationships in socially and culturally very multi-layered postcolonial societies. However, it should be noted that today, they find areas of implementation in public consciousness and practice, and there is even a tendency to expand these areas.
ISSN:1454-5667