In this series of An Africa for Africans we’re exploring alternative political philosophies and we’re kicking it off with Black Anarchism. Black Anarchism evokes thoughts of chaos and radicalism in its most extreme form, it did start off that way with movements like the Black Panthers in the USA and the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front in South Africa. Contemporary Anarchism is far tamer than that. It involves questioning the legitimacy of power and promoting agency. The goals of anarchism are not to replace one power with another but to completely do away with imperialism. In an anarchist society, everyone is in charge. It’s election season in many parts of the world and it seems like a good time to discuss power and politics, why not shake things up by starting with a theory that advocates against hierarchical power? 

It’s election season in many places. In this decade, Guinea-Bissau followed Zambia got the opposition party elected. Zimbabwe’s elections this year had the same old result, and aftermath of a witch hunt of opposition party leaders because the results were just too close this time, this is the story in many African countries. 

The notion “If you don’t vote you lose the right to complain” is what led me to anarchism. Anarchism is a philosophy that was mainly founded by Robert Nozick. His philosophy was adopted by Black Anarchists who had been frustrated by being overpowered by state violence and identified with the philosophy’s goal to promote agency in citizens. Contemporary Black Anarchists often steer clear of promoting violence, especially because Black anarchists like Kuwasi Balagoon were very militant and unafraid to kill. Contemporary Black Anarchism is combined with other philosophies that make up for the areas where extreme militant action would have been put. Feminist Black Anarchism for example acknowledges that there are useful policies in place, but asks us to question the legitimacy of institutes if things like victim blaming can, in some instances be accepted, debatably the legal concept of ‘reasonable care’ could fall into this. It takes the ‘radical view’ that the most effective system is one where people don’t have to be careful. This is something that would be difficult to apply without some heavy policing. It’s taken place in the form of cancel culture, which has some hectic pros and cons.

Its election season, are we capable of a social structure with no leaders? I’m no politics expert, there’s something a little sad and funny about the differences in how politics play out in the west and in many parts of Africa. The west has the liberals and the conservatives, and many of us in Africa have the state party and the opposition parties. Politics in Africa is more a game of ‘who can topple them off’ rather than a contest of ideologies in many African countries. It has for a long time been about patronage. This is after all how the professional sphere of African communities works, the ubuntu of business is to remain a loyal customer. Your fellow citizen, found family, has given you good service, you must keep them alive. This is how we can help each other to sustain ourselves. Somehow politicians in Africa have turned power into a closed community business that many must keep alive. Yet teach us about rotational leaderships that take place within democratic systems. 

The politics has become caught between those who seek to remain loyal to what they have always known, even if what they have known has been failing them in ways that they also complain about (e.g. land, unemployment, homelessness…), and those who want change and to address other problems that are treated as too foreign because a lot of people turn a blind eye to the practical harms to human rights that are pointed out by these movements, yet the harm still persists, (climate justice, LGBTQ+ rights, animal rights…)  

Voting in many places does not seem to be about the agenda and goals of the candidates, but more about displacing the one in power. Let’s face it, elections are the most accessible form of participation in the democratic system that most citizens get. Parliamentary procedures and public hearings often don’t incite participation because they seem more complicated and boring than most people would be put up with. It’s the formality of it all, the lack of movie magic, civic engagement seems too serious and divisive without much of a payout because decision makers seem to have the final word anyway. Anarchist politics calls for people to determine that on their own, what could that look like in a time when technology is being used to make most activities entertaining? But then again, too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the soup.

That’s it from me for now, comment below, what are your thoughts on Black Anarchism?