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Voluntarism, Virtuous Citizenship, and Nation-Building in Late Colonial and Early Postcolonial Tanzania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2015

Emma Hunter
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Abstract:

This article offers a historical perspective on the concept of voluntarism in modern Africa. It does so by exploring the ways in which postcolonial states grappled with the legacies of colonial-era concepts of voluntarism, using Tanzania as a case study. It argues that the postcolonial state sought to combine two strands of colonial thinking about voluntarism in a new conception of “virtuous citizenship.” But this was a fragile construction, and the language of voluntarism could bring to light divisions in society that many would have preferred to keep hidden.

Résumé:

Cet article propose une perspective historique du concept de volontariat dans l’Afrique moderne. Cette démarche est effectuée en explorant la manière dont les États postcoloniaux se sont interrogés sur les héritages des concepts de volontariat issus de l’ère coloniale, en prenant la Tanzanie comme étude de cas. Il fait valoir que l’État postcolonial a cherché à combiner les deux tendances de la réflexion coloniale sur le bénévolat en une nouvelle conception de “citoyenneté vertueuse.” Mais il s’agissait d’une construction fragile, et le langage du volontariat pourrait éclairer des divisions dans la société que beaucoup auraient préféré garder cachées.

Keywords

Volunteersnation-buildingpostcolonial statescitizenshipdevelopment
Type
ASR FOCUS ON VOLUNTEER LABOR IN EAST AFRICA
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 58 , Issue 2 , September 2015 , pp. 43 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © African Studies Association 2015 

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