ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that Francophone African countries are, on the whole, nearer to becoming nations than are English-speaking African countries. The Francophones are ahead in nationhood and behind in statehood despite the fact that the term "the state" is used more often in the vocabulary of Francophone governments than in the political lexicon of former British Africa. The chapter aims to discern the precise relationship between imperial ethnicity and indigenous state formations in Africa. Imperial ethnicity encompasses ethnic perceptions and priorities within the culture of the body politic of the imperial power or powers. In the history of colonialism in Africa, imperial ethnicity has particularly encompassed racialism itself, and the basic cleavage between perceptions of whiteness and blackness in inter-human relations. An alliance developed between British cultural relativism and British ethnic exclusivity. The cultural relativism led to greater respect for "tribal" cultures in Africa than was found in French colonial policy.
