Stability of African Borders and its Meaning for the Strength or Weakness of African States

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject African Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 1.5, University of Edinburgh (School of Social and Political Sciences), course: Africa in the Contemporary World, language: English, abstract: This essay asks whether the stability of African borders reflect the strength or weakness of African states. There is a multitude of factors that can be considered to demarcate one country from another. The final choice of borders can, therefore, appear arbitrary when they are vastly neglected. A prime example of arbitrary borders, inherited by the former colonizers who neglected many social and natural factors during their drawing, is Africa. Nevertheless, since the late 1800's its arbitrary borders remained virtually untouched and are still recognizable today demonstrates. More than five decades ago, when most African states gained their independence, the appearance of strikingly stable, arbitrary African borders was already recognized. One might weigh to what extent this reflects either the strength or weakness of African states. This essay argues that one must go beyond this dichotomy and, in addition, consider the crucial factor of international dependencies. For this purpose, the author will first shed light on the role of borders in Africa. Before examining the role of international dependencies, the discussion will consider arguments for certain strengths and weaknesses of African states. The essay briefly concludes with an outlook on the stability of African borders. In Africa as elsewhere, borders are a relatively new phenomenon of how societies define their territory. It can be assumed that in precolonial Africa the concept of boundaries, understood as precisely defined lines of demarcation, were completely unknown: states were rather separated by zones of varying width. These kinds of boundaries showed how far states could extend their power and were therefore constantly changing. In the colonial epoch, however, this understanding was replaced by the belief of rulers how far their power should be extended.