Élite Formation in Africa: Class, Culture, and Coherence

Robert A. Miller

doi:10.1017/S0022278X00014245

^{Page 521 note 1} Aron, Raymond, ‘Social Structure and the Ruling Class’, in British Journal of Sociology (London), I, 2, 1950, p. 143.Google Scholar

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^{Page 522 note 4} In the United States, extensive empirical analysis has been devoted towards examining whether, and to what degree, oligarchical rule is existent. The conclusions have been disparate. Walton, John suggests it is likely that methodology has predetermined the findings; see his ‘Discipline, Method and Community Power: a note on the sociology of knowledge’, in American Sociological Review (Washington), XXXI, 5, 10 1966, pp. 684–9.CrossRef Google Scholar Thus sociologists such as Hunter, Floyd, Community Power Structure: a study of decision-makers (Chapel Hill, 1953),Google Scholar have employed the reputational approach, while political scientists such as Dahl, Robert A., Who Governs? Power and Democracy in an American City (New Haven, 1961),Google Scholar have utlised decision-making methods. The former have found monolithic power structures, the latter, pluralistic processes. Walton, concluded that ‘The disciplinary background of the investigator tends to deternune the method of investigation he will adapt which, in turn, tends to determine the image of the power structure that results from the investigation’ (p. 688).Google Scholar He advised that, whenever possible, combinational research methods should be used to guard against this bias.

^{Page 522 note 5} See Kersteins, Thom, The New Elite in Asia and Africa: a comparative study of Indonesia and Ghana (New York, 1966), p. 3;Google ScholarLloyd, Peter C., The New Elites of Tropical Africa (London, 1966), p. 1;Google Scholar and Pye, Lucian W. and Verba, Sidney, Political Culture and Political Development (Princeton, 1965), p. 15.CrossRef Google Scholar

^{Page 522 note 6} Rustow, loc. cit. p. 695.

^{Page 523 note 1} Bell, Wendell, ‘Social Change and Elites in an Emergent Nation’, in Barringer, Herbert R., Blackstein, George I., and Mack, Raymond W. (eds.), Social Change in Developing Areas (Cambridge, 1965), pp. 155–6.Google Scholar

^{Page 523 note 2} Cf. Merritt, Richard L., Systematic Approaches to Comparative Politics (Chicago, 1970), p. 106.Google Scholar

^{Page 523 note 3} Pye and Verba, op. cit. pp. 15–16.

^{Page 523 note 4} See their statements in Africa Report (New York), VIII, 07 1963.Google Scholar

^{Page 523 note 5} Kopytoff, Igor, ‘Socialism and Traditional African Societies’, in Friedland, William H. and Rosberg, Carl G. Jr (eds.), African Socialism (Stanford, 1964), pp. 53–62.Google Scholar

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^{Page 524 note 1} Mannheim, Karl, Ideology and Utopia (New York, 1966).Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 2} Grundy, Kenneth W., ‘The “Class Struggle” in Africa: an examination of conflicting theories’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, II, 1964, p. 392.Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 3} E.g. Senghor, Léopold Sédar, ‘The Senegalese Way to Socialism’, in Review of International Affairs (London), XXII, 01 1961.Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 4} Keita, Modibo, ‘The Single Party in Africa’, in Presence africaine (Paris), II, 30, 1960, p. 34.Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 5} Lloyd, Peter C., Classes, Crises, Coups (London, 1971), p. 153.Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 6} See Nyerere, Julius K., Ujamaa – essays on socialism (New York, 1968).Google Scholar

^{Page 524 note 7} Berg, Elliot J., ‘Socialism and Economic Development in Tropical Africa’, in The Quarterly Journal of Economics (Cambridge), LXXVIII, 4, 11 1964, p. 571.Google Scholar

^{Page 525 note 1} Davidson, Basil, Which Way Africa? (Baltimore, 1971), p. 116.Google Scholar

^{Page 525 note 2} See Nyerere, Julius, ‘Democracy and the Party System’, in Sigmund, Paul E. (ed.), The Ideologies of Developing Nations (New York, 1972 edn), pp. 305–13.Google Scholar

^{Page 525 note 3} Sigmund, ibid. p. 54.

^{Page 525 note 4} Skiar, Richard L., ‘Political Science and National Integration’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, v, 1, 05 1967, p. 8.Google Scholar

^{Page 525 note 5} See, for example, Fitch, Bob and Oppenheimer, Mary, Ghana: end of an illusion (New York 1966);Google Scholar and Scott, James C., Comparative Political Corruption (Englewood Cliffs, 1972).Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 1} Mitchell, J. Clyde and Epstein, A. L., ‘Occupational Prestige and Social Status among Urban Africans in Northern Rhodesia’, in van den Berghe, Pierre (ed.), Africa: social problems of change and conflict (San Francisco, 1965), p. 215.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 2} Meisel, James H., The Myth of the Ruling Class: Gaetano Mosca and the elite (Ann Arbor, 1962 edn.), p. 4.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 3} Mills, C. Wright, The Power Elite (New York, 1956), p. 277.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 4} E.g. Bendix, Reinhard and Lipset, Seymour M. (eds.), Class, Status and Power: a reader in social stratification (Glencoe, 1953).Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 5} E.g. Marsh, Robert M., The Mandarins: the circulation of elites in China, 1600–1900 (New York, 1961), pp. 23–4.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 6} See Bottomore, T. B., Elites and Society (New York, 1966), p. 42.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 7} Kamarck, Andrew M., The Economics of African Development (New York, 1971), pp. 37–8.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 8} Zolberg, Aristide R., ‘The Structure of Political Conflict in the New States of Tropical Africa’, in The American Political Science Review (Menasha), LXII, 1, 03 1968, pp. 74–5.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 9} Shils, Edward, ‘The African Intellectuals’, in Beaver, R. P. (ed.), Christianity and African Education (Grand Rapids, 1966), p. 126.Google Scholar

^{Page 526 note 10} See Diop, Majhemout, Classes and Class Ideology in Senegal (Dakar, 1965);Google Scholar and Dumont, René, False Start in Africa (New York edn., 1970), p. 81.Google Scholar

^{Page 527 note 1} First, Ruth, Power in Africa (Baltimore, 1971), p. 106.Google Scholar

^{Page 527 note 2} Cf. Coleman, James S., ‘Introduction to Part I. Patterns and Problems of Educational Underdevelopment’, in Coleman, James S. (ed.), Education and Political Development (Princeton, 1965), p. 26.Google Scholar

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^{Page 528 note 1} Clignet, Rémi and Foster, Philip, ‘Potential Elites in Ghana and the Ivory Coast’, in American Journal of Sociology (Chicago), LXX, 1964, p. 356.Google Scholar

^{Page 528 note 2} J. E. Goldthorpe, ‘An African Elite: a sample survey of fifty-two former students of Makerere College in East Africa’, in van den Berghe, op. cit. pp. 180–1.

^{Page 528 note 3} Clignet and Foster, loc. cit. p. 357.

^{Page 528 note 4} Clignet, Rémi and Foster, Philip, The Fortunate Few: a study of secondary schools and students in the Ivory Coast (Evanston, 1966), p. 202.Google Scholar

^{Page 528 note 5} See Kimble, George, ‘Educational Problems in Sub-Saharan Africa’, in McEwan, Peter J. M. and Sutcliffe, Robert B. (eds.), Modern Africa (New York, 1965), p. 362.Google Scholar

^{Page 528 note 6} See Lewis, W. Arthur, ‘The Role of Education’, in Burke, Fred (ed.), Africa: selected readings (Boston, 1969), pp. 241–2.Google Scholar

^{Page 528 note 7} Clignet, and Foster, , The Fortunate Few, p. 205.Google Scholar

^{Page 529 note 1} Clignet, and Foster, , ‘Potential Elites in Ghana and the Ivory Coast’, pp. 357–8.Google Scholar

^{Page 529 note 2} This observation for Malawi is based upon my service in that country during 1966–8 as an administrative officer in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Cohn Baker agrees that Africanisation has been slow and incomplete, although he offers statistics for 1971–2 to show that the pace has recently accelerated. See ‘The Administrative Service of Malawi – a case study in Africanisation’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, X, 4, 12 1972, pp. 543–60.Google Scholar

^{Page 529 note 3} Cf. Tuden, Arthur and Plotnicov, Leonard (eds.), Social Stratification in Africa (New York, 1970), p. 24.Google Scholar

^{Page 529 note 4} Ibid. pp. 18–19.

^{Page 529 note 5} Goldthorpe, loc. cit. p. 192; and Lloyd, , The New Elites of Tropical Africa, p. 39.Google Scholar

^{Page 530 note 1} Lloyd, Peter C., Africa in Social Change (Baltimore, 1969), p. 152.Google Scholar

^{Page 530 note 2} See Klineberg, Otto and Zaualloni, Marisa, Nationalisin and Tribalism among African Students (The Hague, 1969), p. 59.Google Scholar

^{Page 530 note 3} Lloyd, , The New Elites of Tropical Africa, pp. 30–1.Google Scholar

^{Page 530 note 4} C. Soffer, and Soffer, R., ‘Social Survey of Jinja’, in Forde, Daryll (ed.), Social Implications of Industrialization and Urbanization in Africa South of the Sahara (Paris, 1956), p. 145.Google Scholar

^{Page 530 note 5} Jahoda, Gustav, ‘Social Background of a West African Student Population’, in British Journal of Sociology, VI, 1955, pp. 74–8.Google Scholar

^{Page 531 note 1} Max Gluckman, ‘Tribalism in Modern British Central Africa’, in van den Berghe, op. cit. p. 357.

^{Page 531 note 2} Tuden and Plotnicov, op. cit. p. 21.

^{Page 531 note 3} E.g. Hugh, and Smythe, Mable, The New Nigerian Elite (Stanford, 1960), p. 100.Google Scholar

^{Page 531 note 4} See ‘Scipio’, Emergent Africa (New York, 1965), p. 114;Google ScholarMercier, Paul, ‘Evolution of Senegalese Elites’, in International Social Science Bulletin (Paris), VII, 3, 1956, p. 446;Google Scholar and Tuden and Plotnicov, op. cit. p. 22.

^{Page 531 note 5} Jahoda, Gustav, ‘Social Aspirations, Magic and Witchcraft in Ghana: a social psychological interpretation’, in Lloyd, The New Elites of Tropical Africa, pp. 202–3.Google Scholar

^{Page 531 note 6} Lloyd, , Africa in Social Change, p. 315.Google Scholar

^{Page 531 note 7} Kitching, Gavin N., ‘The Concept of Class and the Study of Africa’, in The African Review (Dar es Salaam), II, 3, 1972, pp. 333–4.Google Scholar

^{Page 532 note 1} See Callaway, Archibald, ‘Unemployment among African School Leavers’, in Cowan, L. Gray, O'Connell, James, and Scanlon, David G. (eds.), Education and Nation-Buildiag in Africa (New York, 1965), pp. 235–7.Google Scholar

^{Page 532 note 2} Kitching, loc. cit. p. 336.

^{Page 532 note 3} Chodak, Szymon, ‘The Birth of an African Peasantry’, in the Canadian Journal of African Studies (Ottawa), V, 3, 1971, p. 338.Google Scholar

^{Page 532 note 4} Kitching, loc. cit. p. 346.

^{Page 532 note 5} Saul, John S., ‘Class and Penetration in Tanzania’, in Cliffe, Lionel and Saul, John S. (eds.), Socialism in Tanzania, Vol. 1, Politics (Nairobi, 1972).Google Scholar

^{Page 533 note 1} Kitching, loc. cit. p. 350.

^{Page 533 note 2} O'Brien, Donal B. Cruise, ‘Co-operatives and Bureaucrats: class formation in a Senegalese peasant society’, in Africa (London), XLI, 4, 10 1971, p. 275.Google Scholar

^{Page 533 note 3} Post, Kenneth, ‘Peasantization” and Rural Political Movements in Western Africa’, in Archives européennes de sociologie (Paris), XIII, 1972, p. 240.Google Scholar

^{Page 533 note 4} Ibid. p. 237.

^{Page 534 note 1} Coleman, James S., ‘The Character and Viability of African Political Systems’, in Goldschmidt, Walter (ed.), The United States and Africa (New York, 1963), p. 54.Google Scholar

^{Page 534 note 2} Meisel, op. cit. p. 51.

^{Page 534 note 3} Lloyd, , The New Elites of Tropical Africa, p. 13.Google Scholar

^{Page 534 note 4} See Coleman, , ‘Patterns and Problems of Educational Underdevelopment’, p. 29.Google Scholar

^{Page 534 note 5} See Shils, Edward, ‘The Intellectuals in the Political Development of the New States’, in Finkle, Jason L. and Gable, Richard W. (eds.), Political Development and Social Change (New York, 1966), p. 361.Google Scholar

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^{Page 535 note 1} Fred Riggs, ‘Bureaucrats and Political Development: a paradoxical view’, in Finkle and Gable, op. cit. pp. 409–15.

^{Page 535 note 2} Lofchie, Michael F., ‘Representative Government, Bureaucracy, and Political Development: the African case’, in Doro, Marion E. and Stultz, Newell M. (eds.), Governing in Black Africa (Englewood Cliffs, 1970), pp. 285–6;Google Scholar and Pye, Lucian W., Aspects of Political Development (Boston, 1966), p. 19.Google Scholar

^{Page 535 note 3} Sigelman, Lee, ‘Do Bureaucrats Dominate Underdeveloped Politics? A Test of the Imbalance Thesis’, in The American Political Science Review, LXVI, 2, 06 1972, pp. 525–8.CrossRef Google Scholar

^{Page 535 note 4} First, , Power in Africa, p. 114.Google Scholar

^{Page 535 note 5} Welch, Claude E. (ed.), Soldier and State in Africa (Evanston, 1970), pp. 36–50.Google Scholar

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^{Page 536 note 1} Adu, L., The Civil Service in New African States (New York, 1965), p. 231.Google Scholar

^{Page 536 note 2} Lofchie, loc. cit. p. 292.

^{Page 536 note 3} Pye, Lucian W., ‘The Non-Western Political Process’, in Eckstein, Harry and Apter, David E. (eds.), Comparative Politics (New York, 1963), p. 660.Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 1} Foltz, , ‘Building the Newest Nations’, p. 126.Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 2} LeVine, Victor T., Political Leadership in Africa (Stanford, 1967), p. 75.Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 3} See Dawson, Richard E. and Prewitt, Kenneth, Political Socialization (Boston, 1969).Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 4} See Marvick, Dwaine, ‘Political Recruitment Careers’, in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (New York), XII, 1968, p. 277.Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 5} Moynihan, Daniel P., ‘Eliteland’, in Psychology Today (Delmar, California), IV, 4, 09 1970, p. 70.Google Scholar

^{Page 537 note 6} See Enloe, Cynthia H., Ethnic Conflict and Political Development (Boston, 1973), p. 27.Google Scholar

^{Page 538 note 1} Lewis, W. Arthur, Politics in West Africa (London, 1965), p. 66.Google Scholar

^{Page 538 note 2} See Cohen, Ronald and Middleton, John (eds.), From Tribe to Nation in Africa (Scranton, 1970), p. 2.Google Scholar

^{Page 538 note 3} See van den Berghe, op. cit. p. 13.

^{Page 538 note 4} E.g. Morrison, Donald G., ‘Political Instability in Independent Black Africa’, in Journal of Conflict Resolution (Beverly Hills), XV, 3, 09 1971, pp. 347–68;CrossRef Google ScholarMorrison, and Stevenson, Hugh M., ‘Integration and Instability Patterns of African Political Development’, in The American Political Science Review, LXVI, 3, 09 1972, pp. 902–27;CrossRef Google Scholar and my ‘Political Instability in Black Africa: the effect of pluralism and economic growth’, 1970, mimeographed.

^{Page 538 note 5} Immanuel Wallerstein, ‘Ethnicity and National Integration in West Africa’, in van den Berghe, op. cit. p. 477. See also Enloe, Ethnic Conflict and Political Development.

^{Page 538 note 6} Parenti, Michael, ‘Ethnic Politics and the Persistence of Ethnic Identification’, in The American Political Science Review, LXI, 3, 09 1967, pp. 717–26.CrossRef Google Scholar

^{Page 538 note 7} Clignet, Rémi, ‘Ethnicity, Social Differentiation and Secondary Schooling in West Africa’, in Cahiers d'études africaines (Paris), VII, 1967, p. 378.Google Scholar

^{Page 539 note 1} See Emerson, Rupert, ‘Nation-Building in Africa’, in Deutsch, Karl and Foltz, William J. (eds.), Nation-Building (New York, 1966), pp. 114–15.Google Scholar

^{Page 539 note 2} Joshua A. Fishman, ‘Some Contrasts between Linguistically Homogeneous and Linguistically Heterogeneous Polities’, in Fishman, Ferguson, and Das Gupta, op. cit. pp. 53–68.

^{Page 539 note 3} Sklar, , ‘Political Science and National Integration’, p. 7.Google Scholar

^{Page 539 note 4} Foster, Philip, ‘Ethnicity and the Schools in Ghana’, in Comparative Education Review (Madison), VI, 2, 10 1962, p. 127.Google Scholar

^{Page 539 note 5} Paul Mercier, ‘On the Meaning of “Tribalism” in Black Africa’, in van den Berghe, op. cit. p. 495.

^{Page 540 note 1} See Coleman, , ‘Patterns and Problems of Educational Underdevelopment’, p. 38.Google Scholar

^{Page 540 note 2} See Apter, David E., ‘The Role of Traditionalism in the Political Modernization of Ghana and Uganda’, in World Politics, XII, 10 1960;Google Scholar and Coleman, , ‘The Character and Viability of African Political Systems’, p. 52.Google Scholar

^{Page 540 note 3} Ogunsheye, Ayo, ‘Nigeria’, in Coleman, James S. (ed.), Education and Political Development (Princeton, 1965), p. 127.Google Scholar

^{Page 540 note 4} Clignet, Rémi and Foster, Philip, ‘French and British Colonial Education in Africa’, in Comprative Education Review, VIII, 2, 10 1964.Google Scholar

^{Page 540 note 5} Coleman, James S., Nigeria: background to nationalism (Los Angeles, 1958), p. 140.Google Scholar

^{Page 540 note 6} Geertz, Clifford, ‘The Integrative Revolution: primordial sentiments and civic politics in the new states’, in Welch, Claude E. Jr (ed.), Political Modernization (Belmont, 1969), p. 168.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 1} See Coleman, , ‘Patterns and Problems of Educational Underdevelopment’, pp. 31–2.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 2} See Bates, Robert H., ‘Ethnicity and Modernization in Contemporary Africa’, Seminar on African Protest and Resistence in the Twentieth Century, Syracuse University, 04 1971;Google Scholar and Gould, Peter, ‘Problems of Structuring and Measuring Changes in the Modernization Process: Tanzania, 1920–63’, Annual American Political Science Association Conference, Washington, 09 1968.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 3} Clignet, and Foster, , ‘Potential Elites in Ghana and the Ivory Coast’, p. 353.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 4} Morgenthau, Ruth Schachter, ‘Single-Party Systems in West Africa’, in Hanna, William J. (ed.), Independent Black Africa: the politics of freedom (Chicago, 1964), p. 299.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 5} Emerson, , ‘Nation-Building in Africa’, p. 107.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 6} Seligman, Lester G., ‘Elite Recruitment and Political Development’, in the Journal of Politics (Gainesville), XXVI, 3, 08 1964, pp. 621–2.Google Scholar

^{Page 541 note 7} For an example of this approach, see my paper ‘A Comparative Analysis of Elite Representation in Tanzania and Uganda’, presented at the 16th Annual Meeting of the African Studies Association, Syracuse, 11 1973.Google Scholar

^{Page 542 note 1} Lofchie, Michael F., ‘The Uganda Coup – class action by the military’, in The Journal of Modern African Studies, X, 1, 05 1972;Google Scholar see critiques by Chick, John D., ‘Class Conflict and Military Intervention in Uganda’, pp. 634–7,Google Scholar and by Gershenberg, Irving, ‘A Further Comment on the 1971 Coup’, pp. 638–9,Google Scholar both in ibid. x, 4, December 1972.

^{Page 541 note 2} Jackson, R. H., ‘Political Stratification in Tropical Africa’, in Canadian Journal of African Studies, VII, 3, 1973, p. 397.Google Scholar

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