The idea of the African state

At independence, the great majority of African states appeared to possess all of the attributes of statehood outlined in chapter 1. Their territories were, with few exceptions, clearly demarcated, and there were few disputes about who was to count as a citizen of one state rather than another. Though the range of functions performed by their governments was often modest, and the machinery of government was correspondingly slight, there was little doubt about their capacity to exercise their responsibilities over the whole of their national territories. Save for one or two of the largest and most disparate states, notably Sudan and Congo/Zaïre, their territorial integrity did not seem to be threatened; and even when, as in Nigeria and Uganda, political parties with rival regional and ethnic bases had competed for power, these had been induced to accept a constitutional settlement which maintained the existing territory. The new regimes usually enjoyed the governmental legitimacy conferred by elections, which in several cases had bestowed on them virtually unanimous popular support. Save again for a few exceptional cases, such as the challenge to Mauritania's existence posed by a Moroccan claim on the whole of its territory, or the Somali Republic's demand for self-determination on behalf of ethnic Somalis living in north-east Kenya, their relations with their neighbours were usually correct if not necessarily cordial; and in any event, these neighbours were in no position to threaten them. The global power structure was, as already noted, much more a source of support than a threat to weak and newly emergent states.