African Socialism and Attaining the Pan-African Ideal: Tanzania and Kenya, 1950-1970

Abstract

My research methodology was primarily archival. I analyzed primary sources that I collected from the Kenya National Archives in Nairobi, the Africana Library at the University of Nairobi, and the Government Press of Kenya. I also interviewed several individuals at the University of Nairobi to help to contextualize the material I gathered, and to appreciate just how emotive Pan-Africanism is. I combined these findings with several secondary sources, mainly books and journal articles that discuss African Socialism as a means to realize Pan-Africanism. As state-level African Socialism was considered to be the prerequisite for total integration, states had to be committed to its implementation. It was necessary for individuals within states to think beyond their individual needs on behalf of the welfare of Africa collectively for states to be committed to losing some of their state sovereignty and territorial boundaries constructed during European colonialism. This incremental process was advocated by Nyerere of Tanzania, but challenged by Nkrumah and others. The next chapters will address origins of Pan-Africanism and the tension and challenges the movement faced in the Diaspora, and in implementing African Socialism in Africa, and finally discuss the modern implications of Pan-Africanism.