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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Ujamaa Revisited: Indigenous and European Influences in Nyerere's Social and Political Thought
Author:Stöger-Eising, ViktoriaISNI
Year:2000
Periodical:Africa: Journal of the International African Institute
Volume:70
Issue:1
Pages:118-143
Language:English
Geographic term:Tanzania
Subjects:politicians
socialism
ujamaa
Politics and Government
Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
nationalism
About person:Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922-1999)ISNI
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1161404
Abstract:This article explores the degree to which Nyerere's vision of African socialism and African democracy can be accounted for by his 'tribal' (Zanaki, Tanzania) background. More specifically, it examines which elements in his thought are predominantly African and which can be traced to European influences. The most recurrent themes in Nyerere's writings are 'traditional African values' and the centrality of the 'traditional African family'. They constitute the core element of his 'ujamaa' or African socialism. The article shows that Nyerere's statements on 'ujamaa' are not merely rhetorical devices employed by an aspiring politician; nor are they the romantic appeal of a Westernized university graduate to a mythological or even 'invented' African past. Julius Kambarage Nyerere presented his version of 'traditional' African values because he was socialized in a non-hierarchical 'tribal' society. He sought to synthesize these 'traditional' values with Western elements in order to create a Tanzanian identity that would cut across ethnic lines. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. in English and French.
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