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ABSTRACT
This paper re-examines colonial borders as both a footprint of colonialism in Africa and an important analytical concept for understanding meanings of decolonization in the continent. A well-established view is that decolonization in the continent remains incomplete in the presence of borders that were created by, and for, former colonial powers. That view carries with it assumptions about colonialism which need to be tested against lived experiences and findings from research on border studies. This paper makes three observations that are crucial to discussions on the links between decolonization and borders in Africa. The first is that some of the assumptions about the coloniality of Africa's borders are based on ill-conceived notions of borders. Second, the obsession with national borders as the foundation for a colonial and postcolonial state marginalizes other important elements of colonial borders, namely, the creation of regions of empire and the roles of sub-national borders in colonial and postcolonial state-building exercises. Third, the environmental discourse which supports the creation of transborder environments has added a new dimension to the meaning and process of decolonization. The paper calls for a robust conceptualization of border changes in, and for, Africa.
Introduction
Research on borders has significantly enhanced our understanding of the emergence and disappearance of borders and the implications of borders on border communities, state power and sovereignty, Ae state system and international relations (Jones 2009; Newman, 2006). It has also been suggested that borders are implicated in the (re)ordering of the world and the creation of transnational citizenships (Scott, 2009). Thus, borders are understood in both material and nonmaterial terms, and their functions are at one and the same time exclusionary and inclusive, depending on the purpose for which they are created and how they are managed. Our knowledge of borders can further be deepened by paying attention to the contexts under which borders and their meanings emerge and/or disappear. The starting point of almost all discussions on borders in Africa is either the process or outcomes of colonialism, making the colonial context an important template in the analysis of Africa's borders. That context is clear from the commonly used descriptor of "Africa's colonial borders," which is found in almost every document and statement that refers to international borders on...