Citizenship in Africa

Citizenship in Africa provides a comprehensive exploration of nationality laws in Africa, placing them in their theoretical and historical context. It offers the first serious attempt to analyse the impact of nationality law on politics and society in different African states from a trans-continental comparative perspective. Taking a four-part approach, Parts I and II set the book within the framework of existing scholarship on citizenship, from both sociological and legal perspectives, and examine the history of nationality laws in Africa from the colonial period to the present day. Part III considers case studies which illustrate the application and misapplication of the law in practice, and the relationship of legal and political developments in each country. Finally, Part IV explores the impact of the law on politics, and its relevance for questions of identity and 'belonging' today, concluding with a set of issues for further research. Ambitious in scope and compelling in analysis, this is an important new work on citizenship in Africa.

PART I
INTRODUCTION
1. International Law and the Right to a Nationality
1.1. What's in a Word: Citizenship or Nationality?
1.2. The Regulation of Nationality in International Law
1.3. The Content of Citizenship Rights
1.4. The Relevance of the Right to a Nationality in Africa
PART II
EMPIRE TO INDEPENDENCE: THE INVENTION OF NATIONALITY IN AFRICA
2. Membership in the Pre-Colonial Era
3. The European Colonial Period
3.1. British Territories
3.2. French Territories
3.3. Others
4. Transition to Independence
4.1. The Ottoman Empire
4.2. British Territories
4.3. French Territories
4.4. Others
PART III
AFRICAN NATIONALITY LAWS SINCE INDEPENDENCE
5. Trends and Patterns in Nationality Law
5.1. Acquisition at Birth: The Balance of Jus Soli and Jus Sanguinis
5.2. Gender Equality
5.3. Dual Nationality
5.4. Naturalisation
5.5. Loss and Deprivation
5.6. Making Sense of Legal Amendments
6. Identification and Registration
6.1. Proof of Nationality: The Civil/ Common Law Divide
6.2. Civil Registration
6.3. Child Protection
6.4. Identification and Nationality
6.5. The Relationship Between the Formal and the Informal
PART IV
COUNTRY CASE STUDIES
7. Who is a Native?
7.1. Dual Citizenship, Denationalisation and Disenfranchisementin Zimbabwe
7.2. The 'Lebanese' of Sierra Leone
7.3. 'Asians' and other 'others' in Kenya and Uganda
7.4. Côte d'Ivoire's War of Conjunctions: The 'and' and the 'or'
7.5. The Banyarwanda of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo
7.6. Mauritania's Efforts to Enforce a 'Nation-State'
7.7. 'Indigeneity' in Nigeria: The Links Between Local and National
8. State Successions Since Independence
8.1. Eritrea/Ethiopia: State Succession and Mass Expulsion
8.2. Sudan and South Sudan
8.3. The Bakassi Peninsula
8.4. The Tebu and the 'Aouzou strip' between Chad and Libya
8.5. Other ICJ Rulings in Border Disputes
9. Access to Citizenship for Refugees
9.1. Former Liberian and Sierra Leonean Refugees in Guinea
9.2. Tanzania: A Unique Offer of Citizenship to Refugees
9.3. South Africa: The Dream Deferred
PART V
CONCLUSIONS
10. The Importance of Nationality Law in Africa
10.1. Categories of the Excluded and Commonalities with other Regions
10.2. Patterns, Continuities, and Discontinuities in the Law
10.3. The Influence of International Law
10.4. The Instrumentalisation of Nationality Laws
10.5. The Unintended Consequences of the Initial Frameworks for Nationality Law
10.6. The Impact of Changes in Nationality Laws
10.7. Marginal Citizens: The Buffer Zone
10.8. The Importance of Recognised Nationality and the Impact of Statelessness
11. An Agenda for Research and Reform
11.1. Pathways to Citizenship
11.2. Resolving the Question of Theoretical other Nationalities
11.3. The Situation of Nomads
11.4. Bringing Naturalisation in from the Arbitrary Cold
11.5. The Role of Decentralised Decision-Making
11.6. The Importance of Subsidiary Legislation and Administrative Procedures
11.7. 'Legal identity' and New Technologies in Africa
11.8. Future Directions: Nationality in National and Continental Law

“[T]his book presents a detailed description of the legal mechanisms of citizenship and their impact on the continent, but does so in tandem with a strong historical and political understanding of the context in which these mechanisms have evolved and operated. This is its strength: it will appeal to legal scholars who want to understand the detail of legal process, but has relevance to a much wider audience - an audience that will hopefully heed its call to action.” –  Lucy Hovil, Statelessness and Citizenship Review