Minorities and the State in Africa

Presented by Mbanaso (director, E. Franklin Frazier Center for Social Work Research, Howard U.) and Korieh (history, Marquette U.), 11 chapters explore different facets of the relationship between minorities and the state in Africa, focusing on ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups in relation to formal instruments of governance, resource allocation, and control in modern nation-states and emphasizing those minorities historically regarded as the "Other" and victims of states created out of Africa's colonial experience. Papers discuss the overall situation regarding minority groups and human rights in Africa, the way the Indian minority has negotiated its position in South African history, the Kabyli Citizen's Movement and the failure of transformative minority politics in Algeria, the 19th century origins of discrimination against Ijebu settlers in Nigeria, historical memories and contemporary challenges of the Tonga people of Zimbabwe, and migrant labor and industrial ethnicity in colonial Zimbabwe, among other topics. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)