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The Nation State

Could the new generation of African politicians live up to expectations they had raised?

Episode twenty-four - the challenges of nation building after 70 years of foreign rule.

By the end of the 1960s the majority of African states had either won or were on their way to independence. But could they really shake free from colonial influences? And would the new generation of African politicians live up to the expectation they had raised?

"A nation refers to issues of identity among the people themselves, a state refers to boundaries of authority within a particular territory and, as in Europe, the term nation is always a problem." Professor Ali Mazrui Binghamton University, New York.

Presented by Hugh Quarshie.

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29 minutes

主播大秀 World Service Archive

This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project