The OAU and the question of borders

Abstract

None of the borders shaping modern African countries have existed in the same guise prior to the Europeans' arrival. Especially starting from the nineteenth century, European powers increasingly deprived lands in Africa of their native social organization, in pursuance of vital space for the colonial machinery. The boundary lines created throughout Africa are indeed a genuine product of colonialism and were used to delimit artificial spaces of dominance. Within these areas, in fact, both subjugating powers and social representations acted to the detriment of the Africans.