Why Africa's weak states persist:

the empirical and the juridical in

statehood

(Jackson and Rosenberg, 1982)

The concept of statehood

● Weber's definition (African governments cannot be regarded as states because

they cannot always effectively claim a monopoly of force in their entire territorial
jurisdiction. The example: Nigeria/Chad/Uganda).
● Brownlie's definition (The empirical attributes of statehood are not as definite as
the juridical ones. In sub-Saharan Africa, these empirical properties varied
greatly, while the legal components were constant. The example: Kenya/Uganda).

Micro-conclusion: it is impossible to explain the preservation of some "states" using

the concept of the state, which does not pay sufficient attention to the legal properties
of statehood.
The empirical state in Black Africa

Brownlie's concept of statehood. Two main components: permanent population and effective
government.

● Permanent population (Strong ethnic division → instability of political communities →

a threat to individual governments and statehood as such). The example: Sudan (1956-
1972); Rwanda (1959-I964); Zanzibar (I964).
● Effective government (The ability of African governments to exercise control depends
on three factors: internal power, the apparatus of power and economic conditions).
The juridical state in Black Africa

● The rule of law is both a creation and a component of the international community of states
→ properties can only be defined in international terms.
● According to Brownlee, the juridical attributes of statehood are "territory" and
"independence" (recognized by the international community).
● The rule of law in Black Africa is a new and arbitrary political unit; territorial borders, legal
identity and often even the names of states are "innovations" of colonial rule. The
decolonization of Africa has demonstrated that it is impossible to have rational empirical
criteria for statehood.

Micro-conclusion: The legal attributes of statehood can be provided by the government only by the
international community.
International society and the African state

The existing model of juridical statehood has been preserved in Africa

Conditions for preservation:

1. ideology of pan-Africanism
2. vulnerability of States and insecurity of statesmen
3. support of the wider international community
4. unwillingness of non-African Powers to interfere in the affairs of African States without
the invitation of their Governments
Some conclusions

● Juridical statehood is more important than empirical.

● International organizations served as a "post-imperial mechanism of ordering" for the
new African States, effectively blocking any movement towards self-determination after
independence.
● Membership in an international society → the ability to influence and benefit from
international rules and ideologies
● The survival of existing African States is largely an international achievement
● The prevalence of external factors over internal ones