Exploring Pan-Africanism's theories

Abstract

The paper takes a stand on recent criticisms levelled against Pan-Africanism, particularly concerning notions of African identity and sovereignty. The paper postulates a new paradigm of solidarity that, regardless of the colour of the skin, insists on human dignity, the search for global justice and the universal achievement of human rights. To support this argument, the paper provides a survey of the main leaders and theories of Pan-Africanism to show the multiple faces of this movement and its evolution. This reminder constitutes a relevant background to the understanding of current debates and shows that these movements, no matter how much they seem to be new, have not developed ex nihilo but represent significant developments of the foundational texts.