The Challenge of Cultural Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa

It is the cultural content of the challenge posed by the new states of tropical Africa that is the subject of this paper. Post-colonial societies are transitional; they are making deliberate efforts to redefine their cultures. Cultural en gineering, the deliberate political effort to channel behavior toward maximizing national objectives, particularly national integration, demands the notion of culture as an intervention ist agent. Since independence, African politics has focused on the search for institutions and strategies to promote na tion-building, economic development, and national and con tinental unity. African nations face the problem of how to select national, inspirational symbols that do not alienate their traditions. A related problem is the conflict between national cultural identity and growing cultural convergence. To be effective, cultural policy must be lived by the people who are the culture-builders. It cannot be achieved without cultural strain, and even among countries sharing a similar colonial experience, cultural policy may vary.