Essentialist Identity and Political Instability in Africa: The Role of John Rawls Veil of Ignorance

Citation: Dr. Ratzinger E. E. Nwobodo, "Essentialist Identity and Political Instability in Africa: The Role of John Rawls Veil of Ignorance", Universal Library of Multidisciplinary, Volume 01, Issue 02.

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Africa has a complex history of conflicts that spans centuries and is shaped by a variety of factors, including colonialism, ethnicism and tribal tensions, economic disparities, and political instability. These factors have led to the continuous underdevelopment of Africa. At the root of this political instability is essentialist approach to Identity. A situation where individuals solely pitch their loyalty to their ethnic group rather than the common good. The “Them versus us” mindset. This study sets to primarily answer two questions: how does the essentialist approach to identity cause political instability in Africa? How can John Rawls concept of the Veil of Ignorance help in mitigating this situation? Hence, the paper, through the method of critical analysis, examines the history of political instability in Africa, with a particular focus in Nigeria. It reveals that essentialist approach to identity in Africa has been the major propelleant of political instability. This births a situation where leaders who are incompetent remain at the corridors of power even when they grossly underperform, simply due to their affiliation to a tribe or faith with a population advantage. Also, through a hermenutical analysis of John Rawls’ concept of the Veil of Ignorance, the paper reveals that the concept, given its advocacy for a mental attitude that deemphasizes differences and focuses on the common good, can serve as an effective tool in mitigating against political instability in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Keywords: Essentialist Identity, Political Instability, Veil of Ignorance

https://doi.org/10.70315/uloap.ulmdi.2024.0102004