Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa

This book presents a theory to account for why and when politics revolves around one axis of social cleavage instead of another. It does so by examining the case of Zambia, where people identify themselves either as members of one of the country’s seventy-three tribes or as members of one of its four principal language groups. The book accounts for the conditions under which Zambian political competition revolves around tribal differences and under which it revolves around language group differences. Drawing on a simple model of identity choice, it shows that the answer depends on whether the country operates under single-party or multi-party rule. During periods of single-party rule, tribal identities serve as the axis of electoral mobilization and self-identification; during periods of multi-party rule, broader language group identities play this role. The book thus demonstrates how formal institutional rules determine the kinds of social cleavages that matter in politics.

• Shifts the emphasis from explaining why politicians ‘play the ethnic card’ to explaining why they play a particular ethnic card • Provides a careful analysis of the politics of ethnicity in Africa • Provides an example of innovative research design and the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods

1. Introduction: institutions and ethnic politics; Part I. Accounting for the Ethnic Cleavage Structure: 2. Accounting for Zambia’s ethnic cleavage structure I: the emergence of tribal identities in colonial Northern Rhodesia; 3. Accounting for Zambia’s ethnic cleavage structure II: the emergence of language identities in colonial Northern Rhodesia; Part II. Accounting for Ethnic Coalition-Building Choices: 4. Ethnicity and ethnic politics in post-independence Zambia; 5. Explaining changing patterns of ethnic politics; Part III. Testing the Model: 6. Competing explanations; 7. Ethnic campaigning: testing the observable implications of the model for elite behavior; 8. Ethnic voting: testing the observable implications of the model for mass behavior; Part IV. Beyond Zambia: 9. Regime change and ethnic politics in Africa; 10. Beyond regime change, beyond Africa; Appendix A. Native authorities and tribal identifications; Appendix B. Survey and focus group methodologies; Appendix C. Tribal affiliations of parliamentary candidates; Appendix D. Tribal demographies of electoral constituencies.

\'… a well-researched, rich, sophisticated and lively analysis of ethnic politics in Zambia. … a fascinating account of changes in the dimensions of ethnic identity in Zambian politics. [Posner\'s] work is, perhaps, the only book that dwells exclusively on why politicians shift from one ethnic card to another. The details he presents about ethnic and language group formation and about perceptions of ethnic favouritism make the book interesting and a must read.\' Journal of Modern African Studies

\'Posner\'s book should still be recognised as an important contribution to understanding the relationship between politics and ethnicity in Africa.\' Journal Compilation ASEN

\'… well written and well researched. … a good read and will be useful for any graduate class on African politics.\' Political Studies Review