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Who are the “permanent inhabitants” of the state?: citizenship policies and border controls in Tanzania, 1920-1980

From 1920 to 1980, British colonial authorities and post-colonial Tanzanian leaders struggled with African mobility and identities. State officials viewed border-crossers, including labor migrants, refugees, immigrants, and smugglers, as problematic. During the colonial period, persistent African mobility and flexible, multi-faceted identities led the state to abandon attempts to control African migrant laborers. As the state transitioned to independence, nationalist leaders created Tanzanian citizenship and claimed to embrace trans-border African mobility in order to reject colonial racist views and promote Pan-Africanism. However almost immediately following independence, concerns about security, political opposition, land-use, and the economy actually contributed to state attempts to harden borders. Examining citizenship legislation and border controls reveals the tensions between border-crossers, and the Tanzanian colonial and post-colonial governments. Border-crossers maintained long-term ties and regional identities, while both colonial authorities and post-colonial nationalist leaders sought to fix their identities and limit their movement across borders.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:uiowa.edu/oai:ir.uiowa.edu:etd-4918
Date01 July 2011
CreatorsMiller, Charlotte Lee
ContributorsGiblin, James Leonard
PublisherUniversity of Iowa
Source SetsUniversity of Iowa
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typedissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
SourceTheses and Dissertations
RightsCopyright 2011 Charlotte Miller

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