Are Africans African? An Experimental Analysis of Identity in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal

Existing research in Africa has identified ethnicity, religion, and other identities as important factors in a variety of political outcomes. From civil wars to economic development to voting decisions, the effects of ethnic identities are critical across all of these and still other political processes. Typically research studying identities in Africa has focused on explaining the degree to which people identify with their ethnic group versus larger national identities. Yet, despite all of this research none has looked at the degree to which people identify as being African. This is surprising given that the quest to build a larger 'United States of Africa' following de-colonization by leaders such as Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, and others sought to create or tap into an African identity. Today, many leaders believe that Africa must unite and overcome the "balkanization" left behind from colonization. Yet, can Africans unite? Do they think of themselves as African? This study seeks to understand the degree to which (i) Africans do identity with being African versus their own nationality and (ii) if being African is influenced by leaders like Nyerere. To do so, this analysis will conduct a series of survey experiments in Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal in which randomly selected respondents will be randomly assigned a statement by a religious or political leader that is encouraging of African unity. A control group will be presented with no statement. Expectation is that leaders will encourage more African and less national identities.