Nigeria and the Nation-State
Rethinking Diplomacy with the Postcolonial World- Authors:
- Publisher:
- 2020
Summary
Nigeria matters. It is Africa’s largest economy, and it is projected to become the third most populous country in the world by 2050, but its democratic aspirations are challenged by rising insecurity. John Campbell traces the fractured colonial history and contemporary ethnic conflicts and political corruption that define Nigeria today. It was not—and never had been—a nation-state like those of Europe. It is still not quite a nation because Nigerians are not yet united by language, religion, culture, or a common national story. It is not quite a state because the government is weak and getting weaker, beset by Islamist terrorism, insurrection, intercommunal violence, and a countrywide crime wave.
This deeply knowledgeable book is an antidote to those who would make the mistakes of Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq—mistakes based on misunderstanding—in Nigeria. Up to now, such mistakes have largely been avoided, but Nigeria will soon—and Campbell argues already does—require much greater attention by the West.
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Bibliographic data
- Copyright year
- 2020
- ISBN-Print
- 978-1-5381-1375-2
- ISBN-Online
- 978-1-5381-1376-9
- Publisher
- Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
- Language
- English
- Pages
- 283
- Product type
- Book Titles
Table of contents
- Contents No access
- Preface No access
- Acknowledgments No access
- Author’s Note No access
- Timeline of Nigerian Political History No access
- Introduction No access Pages 1 - 10
- 1 The Origins of Nigeria No access Pages 11 - 42
- 2 Nigerians No access Pages 43 - 68
- 3 The State of Nigeria No access Pages 69 - 92
- 4 Sharing the Cake No access Pages 93 - 122
- 5 Falling Apart? No access Pages 123 - 158
- 6 International Relations and Nigeria No access Pages 159 - 184
- 7 A New Approach No access Pages 185 - 212
- Conclusion: Thinking Differently No access Pages 213 - 216
- Notes No access Pages 217 - 260
- Selected Bibliography No access Pages 261 - 268
- Index No access Pages 269 - 282
- About the Author No access Pages 283 - 283





