L21(a) - Race, Ethnicity, Power, and the Navigation of Intergroup Politics
Date: Jun 4 | Time: 03:15pm to 04:45pm | Location:
Chair/Président/Présidente : Mishall Ahmed (York University)
The Ethnic Vs Class Dimensions of Political Power Contestation in Nigeria: Tola Odubajo (University of Lagos)
Abstract: Throughout Nigeria’s history as an independent nation-state, ethnicity has remained a critical variable in the dynamics of political power contestation. Being a heterogeneous nation-state, there is a persistent inter-ethnic calculation among the Nigerian groups to either dominate others or prevent domination by others. The general discourse in this regard is the alleged political power capture by the Hausa/Fulani group to the detriment of the other ethnic groups from both the minority North and the South of Nigeria as a whole. This article however holds that beyond the facade of ethnic colouration, there is a deeper explanation to the political power dynamics in Nigeria. The social class system provides an incontrovertible explanation for the processes of ascension and retention of political power in Nigeria. This academic inquiry is therefore informed by the need to examine the content and context of political power domination and marginalisation in Nigeria. The class theory of political power as inspired by Marx’s works would provide the framework for explaining the nature and character of political power within the context of ethnic diversity and plurality. The emphasis of this argument is based on the ability of class coalition to erase ethnic division in power contestation. The research would be conducted through the qualitative method. Data would be gathered from secondary sources, and the content would be analysed and interpreted accordingly.
Jamestown to Appomattox: Slavery, Genocide, and a Question of American Responsibility: Andrew Basso (Western University)
Abstract: Was chattel slavery genocidal? The Transatlantic Slave Trade operated between the 15th and 19th Centuries. Approximately 12.5 million Africans were enslaved and sent to various slavery establishments throughout the Americas via the Middle Passage. This paper is focussed on those sent to the United States, approximately 300,000 individuals. The paper begins with an exploration of legal and conceptual definitions of genocide and various methods of destruction and killing. The thoughts of Raphael Lemkin, the person who coined the term ‘genocide’, and his understandings of biological and cultural destruction are especially highlighted. The focus then shifts to chattel slavery as an institutionalized system of violence in the United States. A macro-narrative of slavery is presented from the first slaves to arrive in the United States at Jamestown, Virginia to the conclusion of the American Civil War at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Chattel slavery is critically analyzed as an exterminationist institution and narratives from individual slave plantations are brought forward as empirical evidence of the genocidal intents and methods used against slaves. The paper then shifts to an analysis of chattel slavery in the United States as not only a genocidal system in the biological destruction sense of the crime, but also in the cultural/ontological destruction sense, as well. Finally, a brief discussion of how these arguments relate to calls for reparations for slavery is offered.
A Bridge Too Long to Cross: Echoes of Anti-colonialism Struggles and the Challenges to Overcome Its Trappings Among African Diaspora: Bonnie Ayodele (Ekiti State University)
Abstract: Attempts at deconstructing the challenges of colonialism, racism, identity profiling and other socially constructed negativism from international or nationally politics has continued to attract attention among scholars. In many multi-racial communities, efforts at promoting values that positively bind people of colours have also enjoyed the attention of governments especially in countries like Canada and US. Yet, many coloured people are still subjected to unfriendly profiling thereby making the road to a socially, politically and economically tolerant community very tasking. For African diaspora in Canada, the historic experiences of colonialism and its various trappings has no doubt created a sort of belief that is built on inequality and inferiority profiling. But how are the African diaspora coping and changing the narrative of racism, identity profiling as well as bridging the gap of inequalities in social and economic spheres. Considering the recent ‘crude populism’ that was informed by new nationalistic fibre, it is important to interrogate how colonialism struggles has shaped the trajectory of African diaspora in Canada
Slavery, Emancipation and Postcolonial Development: Why Haiti Lags Behind Other Forced Settlement Colonies: Olukunle Owolabi (Villanova University)
Abstract: What factors explain Haiti’s persistent underdevelopment relative to other “forced settlement colonies” that abolished plantation slavery during the nineteenth century? In 1804, Haiti became the first country to gain independence following a slave revolt against white planter control and French colonial domination. Nevertheless, Haiti’s developmental outcomes remain significantly worse than other colonial territories that remained under European domination following the abolition of slavery. For example, France’s Antilles colonies (i.e. Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion) also maintained high levels of plantation slavery that remained legal and widespread long after Haiti’s independence, yet these overseas French departments outperform Haiti on key indicators of governance and human well-being. This paper explores the historical origins of the divergent developmental trajectories of Haiti and the French Antilles following the abolition of slavery. Using secondary sources and primary documents from the French colonial archives, I examine the impact of French (and later U.S.) neo-colonial hostility, and the rise of conservative military elites that hindered Haiti’s postcolonial development. I also examine the institutional reforms that extended citizenship rights to emancipated slaves in the French Antilles after 1848. These institutional reforms promoted the significant expansion of educational access and voting rights in the French Antilles colonies after 1870. This paper is part of a broader research project exploring the diverse developmental legacies of colonialism in the Global South.