Violence in the Contemporary Political History of Eastern Africa

Journal article

Rolandsen, Øystein H. & David M. Anderson (2015) Violence in the Contemporary Political History of Eastern Africa, *International Journal of African Historical Studies * 48 (1): 1–12.

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The articles gathered in this issue of the International Journal of African Historical Studies

focus on the role of violence in the consolidation of state power in eastern Africa, from the

late 1950s into the early 1980s.1 These were critical years in the modern history of the

region, witnessing the transition from colonial rule to the Cold War, a period of

decolonization during which the external relations of all countries in eastern Africa

underwent dramatic change, and a phase in which new African governments strove to

establish their political base, their bureaucratic and executive authority, and their

legitimacy. The contributions here highlight and exemplify how collective violence

permeated these political developments, in some cases coming to define the character of

national or local political authority. The five articles exemplify the diversity of violence in

the modern history of four countries—Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Burundi. Political

authority, legitimacy, and violent contestation are the three themes that bind these five case

studies together.

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