In her controversial working paper ‘Ethnocide as a tool of state-building: South Sudan and the never-ending war,’ Dr. Carol Berger suggests that South Sudan’s Dinka-led government attempts to gain state power and claim the land of non-Dinka peoples using ethnic nationalism as a tool.

Similarly, Kenyan researchers such as Kiraitu Murungi argue that there has been a reservoir of resentment and mistrust of the Kikuyus (the ethnic group most affected by violence) arising from the expansionism of the Kikuyu tribe.

Dr. Rosa Ko will argue in her forthcoming book “The Myth of Ethnicity: Narratives of Violence” that these ideational constructs deriving from post-structural constructivism and materialism severely hamper the development and the democratization process. The process follows as an attempt to correct historical wrongs incurred as these ideational constructs become the social capital of historical memories for the independent states in Africa.

The book will suggest that post-structural constructivism surrounding the dominant ethnic groups and ethnic nationalism following Independence is hurting the development progress, constitutional reform, and devolution efforts surrounding multi-party politics and tribal politics of East African countries.