The Pan-African mission
the world. 12 However, for every Nigeria there is a Seychelles or ex-Soviet state whose willingness to cooperate with global powers allowed them to stabilize their economies, improving living standards for ordinary people.
After claiming that Africa is struggling due to anyone but themselves, the next claim is that uniting the continent under one government will be the silver bullet to their economic and social problems. Hypothetically, how would this state operate? The current African Union is more of a political alliance rather than the pan-African utopian vision. Gaddafi, speaking in 2009, stated: ‘I shall continue to insist that our sovereign African countries work together to achieve the United States of Africa, with a single military force, a single currency and a passport for Africans to move freely around Africa.’ 13 This is the idealistic vision which I will be looking at. Currently, rebel and militia groups are growing increasingly prevalent across sub-Saharan Africa. The M23 rebel group, backed by Rwanda, has been locked in combat with Congolese forces, while Jihadist groups grow more active across the Sahel region. 14 A united army would theoretically go some way to solving this, with currently two million active military personnel already in national armies. The real question is whether these soldiers would be willing to go to battle for a region they have no real affiliation to. US military anthropologists produced work on something known as the devoted actor which argued that a soldier is prepared to risk their life for something (an act which one might refer to as irrational) to a greater extent if they have share a sense of belonging with those around them, referred to in the study as identity fusion. 15 The question as to whether this proposed combined military force would be feasible is to judge whether people truly share this unified identity. For much of recent history this has simply not been the case. Divisions over land, disputes and ethnic differences have stoked division and hatred on the continent. Some may say it was the fault of western delegates at the Berlin Conference who divided Africa into arbitrary lines without regards to cultural or regional differences among the populations; others might point to the failures of democracy in the developing regions. However, whoever is at fault, the claim that all nations would be willing to fight for one another as a united military power is unlikely. Then there is the question of democracy. Researchers at Afro Barometer found that faith in democratic institutions is at an all-time low and continually falling, with less than half of surveyed Africans claiming that they have faith in their President, courts of law or parliament. 16 Additionally, it’s possible to claim that the pan-African movement is in direct conflict with democratic principles. Nkrumah, 12 Beaumont P. & Abrak I. ’Oil-rich Nigeria outstrips India as country with most people in poverty’, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/jul/16/oil-rich-nigeria-outstrips-india-most-people- in-poverty. Consulted 29/7/2025. 13 BBC Africa. Gaddafi vows to push African unity - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7864604.stm . Consulted 29/7/2025. 14 Orrell H. The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined. At https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8vyl3j5kko. Consulted 29/7/2025. 15 Gómez Á., López-Rodríguez L. Sheikh H. et al. ‘The devoted actor’s will to fight and the spiritual dimension of human conflict’, Natural Human Behaviour 1: 673–679. 16 Adaba K. & Boio, D. Across Africa, public trust in key institutions and leaders is weakening. At https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/ad891-across-africa-public-trust-in-key-institutions-and-leaders- is-weakening/. Consulted 29/7/2025.
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