Abstract
This chapter discusses notions of Sudanese nationhood as proposed and debated by the Sudanese nationalist movement during the decolonization period and its aftermath. The chapter shows the divisions within the nationalist movement and how they were partially rooted in pre-colonial and colonial history and partially a product of the specific decolonization process. It argues that the different factions of the nationalist movement failed to establish one coherent or multiple overlapping and compatible narratives of the Sudanese nation. It is this failure of nation building which essentially haunts Sudan until today. The chapter links to two overarching themes of the volume: firstly, the discussion of nation, nationalism and elites and secondly, the role of nation myths or narratives.
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Notes
- 1.
‘Baidan’ in this case has a dual meaning. It is a derivative of ‘Abiad’ or white; in the same way, ‘Sudan’ is a derivative of black. At the same time, ‘Baidan’ is a dual of ‘baid’ which means egg, and is a slang term for testicles.
- 2.
The various opening speeches given at the roundtable conference give a clear impression of this. They are reproduced in: ACR, A/85/17 (Sudan Informazioni, Round-Table Conference on the Southern Sudan).
- 3.
Yassir Arman, Personal Discussion (Khartoum, 7 April 2010).
- 4.
Bašīr Muḥammad Saʿīd, Al-ʾAyām, March 10, 1965, p. 3.
- 5.
Bašīr Muḥammad Saʿīd, Al-ʾAyām, May 20, 1965, p. 3.
- 6.
Bašīr Muḥammad Saʿīd, Al-ʾAyām, July 26, 1956, p. 3.
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Mihatsch, M.A. (2022). Nationalism Without Nation: Sudanese Decolonization and Its Aftermath. In: Záhořík, J., Morone, A.M. (eds) Histories of Nationalism beyond Europe. Palgrave Studies in Political History. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92676-2_5
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