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Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2009

Peter P. Ekeh
Peter P. Ekeh
Affiliation:
University of Ibadan, Nigeria
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Extract

This paper argues that the experiences of colonialism in Africa have led to the emergence of a unique historical configuration in modern postcolonial Africa: the existence of two publics instead of one public, as in the West. Many of Africa's political problems are due to the dialectical relationships between the two publics. I shall characterize these two publics and attempt to explain some of Africa's political features within the matrix of these publics. In order to give some empirical content to the distinction drawn here, I shall illustrate the issues raised with examples from Nigeria.

Type
Colonialism
Information
Comparative Studies in Society and History , Volume 17 , Issue 1 , January 1975 , pp. 91 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Society for the Comparative Study of Society and History 1975

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