A Breakable Bond or Unity at Any Cost? Rethinking the Control Mechanisms Against the ‘Threats’ to National Unity in Tanzania

Abstract

The literature treats Tanzania as an exemplary case in building and sustaining national unity in Africa. Several factors such as Nyerere’s charismatic leadership, the role of the Kiswahili language and the adoption of socialism are credited for this unity. The adoption of liberal democracy has, however, decreased the influence of these factors, hence leading to the emergence of ‘threats’ to national unity. Overcoming these threats has involved several mechanisms such as neutralizing potential referees and canonizing the past, which nonetheless pose a sustainability threat to this unity. Promoting national consensus and voluntary affinity to this unity is thus an imperative.

Keywords

National unity Tanzania mechanisms multiparty democracy consensus imposition

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ali

(2020) Income Distribution among the Household in Tanzania: Application of Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) Approach. Selangor, Malaysia: Universiti Putra Malaysia.

Aminzade

(2013) The dialectic of nation building in postcolonial Tanzania. The Sociological Quarterly 54(3): 335–366.

Babeiya

(2016) New constitution-making in Tanzania: an examination of actors’ roles and influence. African Journal of Political Science and International Relations 10(5): 74–88.

Campbell

(1999) Nationalism, ethnicity and religion: fundamental conflicts and the politics of identity in Tanzania. Nations and Nationalism 5(l): 105–125.

Chang

Azizan

Amran

(2014) National unity at the university level: importance of civilisation dialogue and way forward. European Scientific Journal 9(10): 173–186.

Cheeseman

Matfess

Amani

(2021) Tanzania: the roots of repression. Journal of Democracy 32(2): 77–89.

Crespo

(n.d.) An experiment in devolution: national unity and the deconstruction of the Kenyan state. Available at: https://www.academia.edu/45034657/An_Experiment_in_Devolution_National_Unity_and_the_Deconstruction_of_the_Kenyan_State_by_Dominic_Burbidge (accessed 15 April 2022).

El-Battahani

(2008) Peace without unity: the dilemma of reconciling divergent perspectives in post-conflict Sudan. Available at: https://www.cmi.no/publications/2954-peace-without-unity (accessed 25 February 2022).

Eneflo

(2019) The role of religion in the democratization process: a case study on the catholic church in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Master’s Thesis, Uppsala University, Uppsala.

10.

Fragouli

(2019) The dark side of charisma & charismatic leadership. Business and Management Review 9(4): 298–307.

11.

Gahnström

(2012) Ethnicity, religion and politics in Tanzania: the 2010 general elections and Mwanza region. Master’s Thesis, University of Helsinki, Helsinki.

12.

Gorham

(2018) Kujenga Taifa: State, Society, and Nation-building in Tanzania. University of Florida: Center for African Studies.

13.

Halfdanarson

(1995) Social distinctions and national unity: on politics of nationalism in nineteenth-century Iceland. History of European Ideas 21(6): 763–779.

14.

Heilman

Kaiser

(2002) Religion, identity and politics in Tanzania. Third World Quarterly 23(4): 691–709.

15.

International Alert (2013) Youth Perspectives on Identity and National Unity in Uganda. London: International Alert.

16.

Kasaka

(2018) Maisha, Siasana Hoja ya Tanganyika-G 55. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Greenleaf Associates.

17.

Kemboi

(2015) Towards national integration in Kenya: beyond ethno-centricism and class conflict. Developing Country Studies 5(16): 75–83.

18.

Kessler

(2006) What went right in Tanzania: how nation building and political culture have produced forty-four years of peace. MA Thesis, Georgetown University, Washington, DC.

19.

Kishe

(2003) Kiswahili as vehicle of unity and development in the Great Lakes region. Language Culture and Curriculum 16(2): 218–230.

20.

Lengyel

Verzichelli

(2012) The Europe of Elites: A Study into the Europeanness of Europe’s Political and Economic Elites. London: Oxford University Press.

21.

LHRC (2016) Tanzania Human Rights Report 2015. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: LHRC.

22.

Maina

(2001) Constitution-Making in Tanzania: The Role of The People in the Process. Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/79425301.pdf (accessed 17 May 2022).

23.

Makulilo

Bakari

(2012) Beyond polarity in Zanzibar? The ‘silent’ referendum and the government of national unity. Journal of Contemporary African Studies 30(2): 198–215.

24.

Maliti

(2019) Inequality in education and wealth in Tanzania: a 25-year perspective. Social Indicators Research 145: 901–921.

25.

Marshall

(2015) Kiswahili, and Decolonization: The Inter-Territorial Language Committee and Successor Organizations (1930–1970). Master’s Thesis, American University, Washington, DC.

26.

Matheson

(2012) Maridhiano: Zanzibar’s remarkable reconciliation and Government of National Unity. Journal of Eastern African Studies 6(4): 591–612.

27.

Miguel

(2004) Tribe or nation? Nation building and public goods in Kenya versus Tanzania. World Politics 56(3): 328–362.

28.

Minde

Roop

Tronvoll

(2015) The rise and fall of the government of national unity in Zanzibar: a critical analysis of the 2015 elections. Journal of African Elections 17(1): 162–184.

29.

Mpangala

(2006) The Zanzibar conflict: a search for durable solutions. In: Rupiya

Lwehabura

Roux

(eds) Civil Security Relations in Tanzania: Investigating the Relationship between the State, Security Services and Civil Society. Birmingham: Governance and Social Development Resource Centre, pp.63–76.

30.

Mukangara

(2001) Forms and reforms of constitution-making: with reference to Tanzania. UTAFITI 4: 131–150.

31.

Mwinyi

(2020) Mzee Ruksa: Safari ya Maisha Yangu. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Mkuki na Nyota Publishers.

32.

Nolutshungu

(1993) Reflections on national unity in South Africa: a comparative approach. Third World Quarterly 13(4): 607–625.

33.

Nyamsenda

(2018) Bulldozing like a fascist? Authoritarian populism and rural activism in Tanzania. Discussion paper presented on 17–18 March. The Hague: International Institute of Social Studies (ISS).

34.

Nyerere

(1966) Freedom and Unity/Uhuru na Umoja. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Oxford University Press.

35.

Omach

(2009) Democratization and Conflict Resolution in Uganda.the East African Review. 41: 1–14.

36.

Omodia

(2018) Political parties and national integration in emerging democracies: a focus on the Nigerian state. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 9(4): 69–74.

37.

Paget

(2021) Tanzania: the authoritarian landslide. Journal of Democracy 32(2): 67–76.

38.

Peretomode

(1985) Political parties and problems of national integration: a case study of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Master’s Dissertation, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK.

39.

Poncian

(2015) Christian-Muslim relations in Tanzania: a threat to future stability and peace? Research on Humanities and Social Sciences 5(3): 54–64.

40.

Prunier

(2001) The Catholic church and the Kivu conflict. Journal of Religion in Africa 31(2): 139–162.

41.

Research and Education for Democracy in Tanzania (REDET) (2021) Report on the 2020 Election in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: REDET.

42.

Rwengabo

(2016) Nation building in Africa: lessons from Tanzania for South Sudan. Discussion paper, 3–4 August, Mandela Institute for Development Studies (MINDS) Youth Dialogue, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

43.

Sitta

Slaa

Cheyo

(Eds) (2008) Bunge Lenye Meno-a Parliament with Teeth. London: Africa Research Institute.

44.

Tanzania Civil Society Consortium on Election Observation (TACCEO) (2016) Observation Report on Local Government Elections of 1994. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: TACCEO.

45.

Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) (1967) Arusha Declaration. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: TANU Secretariat.

46.

Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) (2010) Ujumbe wa Mkutano Mkuu wa Mwaka wa Baraza la Maaskofu Katoliki Tanzania Kuelekea Uchaguzi Mkuu 2010. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: TEC.

47.

TEMCO (2011) Report on the 2010 Election in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanazania: TEMCO.

48.

TEMCO (2016) Report on the 2015 Election in Tanzania. Dar es Salaam, Tanazania: REDET.

49.

Toussaint (n.d.) The Arusha declaration, Tanzania’s new revolution. Available at: https://disa.ukzn.ac.za/sites/default/files/pdf_files/Acn2967.0001.9976.000.029.1967.4.pdf (accessed 10 March 2022).

50.

Tripp

(1997) Changing the Rules: The Politics of Liberalization and the Urban Informal Economy in Tanzania. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

51.

Tucker

(1968) The theory of charismatic leadership. Daedalus 97(3): 731–756.

52.

United Republic of Tanzania (URT) (1969) The African Chiefs Act, 1969. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: URT.

53.

United Republic of Tanzania (URT) (2019) Political Parties Act, 2019. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: URT.

54.

Wesley

(2009) In search of brokerage and responsibility: party politics in Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Political Science 42(1): 211–236.

55.

Zamare

(2015) National unity: a catalyst for sustainable democracy in Nigeria. Developing Country Studies 5(8). Available at: https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234682334.pdf