Challenging the state in Africa

Nigeria's return to civilian rule on 29 May 1999 has been marked by interstices of democratic gains and unprecedented levels of violence, tension and insecurity. Challenging the State in Africa critically analyses the emergence of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) and its quest for self-determination in Africa's most populous country and largest multi-ethnic state. Drawing on a multi-disciplinary framework, this study opens up new vistas to the connections between the absence or limited notion of citizenship (rights) and political violence in Africa. It focuses on the notion of citizenship-deficit and a critical analysis of the ways in which the gap between alienated citizens and the Nigerian state widens social cleavages, fuels alienation and politicizes identities.