Abstract
As it is currently understood, postcolonial African states have faced significant challenges in the development of shared national identities within heterogeneous societies. In the context of Sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria provide a comparative base for analysis. While both states emerged from British colonial rule, they later diverged in national identification patterns. Where Tanzania has historically demonstrated a higher rate of national identification among its citizens, Nigeria has held salient regional and ethnic affiliations. The present article attempts to analyze this variation with a focus on the relationships between institutional design, demographic composition, and political mobilization within both countries. Through a combination of qualitative analysis and survey data, this article evaluates the ways in which post-independence political structures shaped the incentives for national and ethnoregional identification. The analysis suggests that the presence of ethnic diversity alone does not determine variation in ethnic identity, and can be partly explained through how political institutions shape the incentives through which existing social divisions can acquire political significance.
Recommended Citation
Hatchett, Kemari J.
(2026)
"Beyond Ethnic Diversity: Political Institutions and National Identification in Tanzania and Nigeria,"
Caroliniana Undergraduate Research Journal: Vol. 1:
Iss.
2, Article 10.
Available at:
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/usc-curj/vol1/iss2/10