Ethnic identity in a 'Homogeneous' Nation State
Doctoral Thesis
2009
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
This thesis adopts a two thronged approach to explore the two components of the common wisdom in Botswana. Firstly, it tests the claim by the common wisdom that Botswana is inherently homogeneous. That 90% of the population either speaks Setswana or belongs to Setswana speaking tribes. Secondly, it tests the fact that this perceived homogeneity connect to the countryâs democratic, economic and political success. The study uses existing Afrobarometer survey data drawn from Rounds 1 (1999), 2 (2003) and 3 (2005) Afrobarometer survey data to test both claims about Botswanaâs homogeneity thesis. The findings of this study reveal that the first part of the common wisdom is confirmed especially when using language âspoken most at home.âHowever, it is disconfirmed when using âhome language.â It is also shown that when using tribe (a putatively objective) and social identity (a more subjective) dimension of ethnicity, the level of ethnic diversity in Botswana is much higher than the common wisdom suggests. This is more apparent when language and tribe are broken down according to district and rural-urban location. It seems that minority groups are distributed across and also concentrated in certain parts of the country. With regard to the second part of the common wisdom, the results point out that difference in language, tribe and social identity exist. However, these are not politicized and not aligned with key political factors of national identity, interpersonal trust, political participation, voting and government legitimacy. There are no important politically relevant cleavages structures in Botswana. This study concludes by proposing that, it may be this lack of politicization of identity, rather than the putative homogeneity of the country, that accounts for Botswanaâs record of development and democracy.
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Boikhutso, K. 2009. Ethnic identity in a 'Homogeneous' Nation State. University of Cape Town.