African Anarchism: The History of a Movement
by Sam Mbah & I.E. Igariwey
Preface by Chaz Bufe. -- Tucson, Ariz. : See Sharp Press, 2001.

1. What Is Anarchism?

definitions; attitudes toward capitalism, the state, religion, and other hierarchical institutions; positive aspects—voluntary cooperation, mutual aid, decentralization, horizontal organization, individual autonomy; what anarchism is not (chaos, terrorism); origins of anarchosyndicalism

2. Anarchism in History

Marx and Bakunin; the First International; disagreement over the role of the state; relationship to syndicalism and guild socialism

3. Anarchistic Precedents in Africa

anarchic elements in African traditional societies; African communalism; political organization under communalism; administration of justice; traditional religions; age grades; secret societies; eonomic aspects; work specialization, trade, and the breakdown of communalism; stateless societies in Africa; the Igbo; the Niger Delta peoples; the Tallensi; colonialism and the incorporation of Africa into the world capitalist economy; economic aspects of colonialism; the colonial educational system; class formation in post-colonial Africa; function of different classes in post-colonial economies; African socialism; is there an African anarchism?; anarchistic elements in African socialism—Julius Nyerere and Ujamaa; anarchist groups in South Africa and Nigeria

4. The Development of Socialism in Africa

class formation under colonialism; cooptation of local leaders; the trade union movement and the liberation struggle in Africa; the Nigerian labor union movement; lack of revolutionary perspective in Nigerian labor unions; the South African labor movement; foundation of Communist Party in South Africa; the revolution” in Guinea; Sekou Toure and the Democratic Party of Guinea; the Awareness League in Nigeria

5. The Failure of Socialism in Africa

ideology and economic development; failure of Guinean “revolution”; lessons from Guinean failure; Tanzania, Julius Nyerere and Ujamaa socialism; reasons for failure of Ujamaa socialism; additional failures of “African socialism”— Ethiopia, Burkina Faso; state capitalism and instability; one-party ideologies and depoliticization; military interventions and their effects; political corruption and social instability—case studies of Ghana and Nigeria; the IMF’s structural adjustment programs (SAPs), electoralism, and Africa’s future; economic and social effects of SAPs; constitutional conventions; the human rights question; repression in Nigeria, Libya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe.

6. Obstacles to the Development of Anarchism in Africa

colonial education and its aftermath; the Western-style legal system; the military; ethnic versus class consciousness; religious and cultural factors; the need for international solidarity

7. Anarchism’s Future in Africa

anarchism in a world context; the crises of capitalism and marxist “socialism”; Africa’s dire economic situation; anarchism and the national question; anarchism—the only way out for Africa.


The full text is available online here:

 http://www.illegalvoices.org/apac/books/aa/toc.html