Challenges of Nation-Building: Uganda—A Case Study

The success or failure of nation-building in the new states has far-reaching implications for domestic, regional and international stability and security. This is aptly illustrated in South Asia today, where differences of language, culture and religion forge great obstacles to the creation of single nation states in both India and Sri Lanka. However, of all the regions of the developing world, it is sub-Saharan Africa that perhaps presents the greatest challenge to the idea of a nation-state. Colonial boundaries cut through ethnic groups and led to the creation of post-colonial states that were in no sense nations. These states contained several nations (or tribes) or part of nations within them. Unity that had been forged to rid colonies of foreign rule collapsed when independence was won and tribal loyalties resurfaced. Some states, such as Tanzania, have fared better than others since then in their efforts to create domestic unity, harmony and a nation-state. Others, such as Uganda, have sunk into anarchy. This paper looks at the example of Uganda in some detail. Particular attention is paid to the decade of the 1970's when Idi Amin was in power, and Uganda hit the international headlines on account of his reign of terror. Trends and events, both before and after Amin, are examined in an effort to establish whether the 1970's were an aberration or part of a continuing tradition of represssion in the name of state security. The Tanzanian action of intervening in Uganda, whatever the motive, had the effect of ridding Uganda of Amin. This action is analyzed in terms of its legitimacy and its consequences. The idea that nation-building is something which has to be generated from within, and cannot be imposed from without, is raised.