Negative ethnicity

`Negative ethnicity’ is Koigi Wa Wamwere’s name for the deep-seated tensions that the world has seen flare so terrifyingly in for example Ruanda, former Yougoslavia and Northhern Ireland. The author argues that the ethnic prejudices that pit peoples against each other stand at the base of most problems in Africa, although it is not strictly an African problem. For example he states that it precludes democracy, because people will be lured into supporting an ethnic elite in stead of electing leaders for their political ideas. Furthermore he stresses that negative ethnicity should be properly defined as a wordwide problem, next to racism and apartheid, because it has shown to be potentially more deadly. With Kenya’s history as a case study, he clarifies the mechanisms behind negative ethnicity and offers possible solutions.