Sankarism

Sankarism (also written Sankaraism[1]) is a term sometimes applied to denote a left-wing ideological trend within the politics of Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, as well as the policies of the military government led by Captain Thomas Sankara.[1] Sankara came to power in what was then the Republic of Upper Volta in a popularly supported 1983 military coup, and ruled until his assassination in a coup led by Blaise Compaoré in 1987.[2]

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There is a strong political dissonance between the movements which ascribe to Sankara's political legacy and ideals, a fact which the Burkinabé opposition politician Bénéwendé Stanislas Sankara (no relation) described in 2001 as being "due to a lack of definition of the concept."[3] The "Sankarists" range from communists and more moderate socialists[4] to nationalists and populists.[5]

History

During his time in power, Sankara – a well-known war veteran noted for his charisma – attempted to bring about what he called the "Democratic and Popular Revolution" (Révolution démocratique et populaire), a radical transformation of society with a focus on self-sufficiency.[6] A number of organizations were formed to implement this revolution, among them the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the Popular Revolutionary Tribunals and the Pioneers of the Revolution. A vast number of reforms were enacted in the newly renamed Burkina Faso between 1983 and 1987, including mass vaccination programs,[7][8][9] reforestation,[10] elimination of slums through new housing developments,[11] and the development of national infrastructure such as railway networks.[9] Most of these were undone after the military coup which ousted and killed Sankara. Prior to his death, the Burkinabé government faced significant allegations of human rights abuses from Amnesty International and other international organizations, including extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and torture of political opponents.

Even after the death of Thomas Sankara his legacy lived on, much due to his charismatic personal image. Sometimes dubbed the "Che Guevara of Africa" due to his similarities in style to the Argentinian revolutionary and the inspiration he took from the Cuban Revolution, Sankara became known for his frugal living, motorcycle riding, guitar playing, and opposition to the cult of personality, all personal traits which set him aside from contemporary African statesmen. For example, when asked why he didn't want his portrait hung in public places, as was the norm for other leaders on the continent, he replied "There are seven million Thomas Sankaras." Ideologically, Sankara was a pan-Africanist and anti-imperialist who sought to reclaim the African identity of his nation and opposed neocolonialism, and although he was believed to be a communist for studying the works of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin, he often refused to put his political ideology under one title using both Christian and various secular ideologies of leftist leaders in order to determine his political actions.[12] [13]

One of the first groups to connect ideologically with the label of "Sankarism" was the Sankarist Movement, formed in exile in Paris only weeks after Sankara's assassination on 15 October 1987.[14] Since then, self-identified Sankarist political parties and other organizations have been a common feature within the Burkinabé opposition movement against the government of President Compaoré. Many Sankarist leaders have a past in either Sankara's government or in the organizations he created. For example, Ernest Nongma Ouédraogo – leader of the Sankarist Pan-African Convention – was Minister of Security under Sankara, and Sams’K Le Jah – leader of the Citizens' Broom (Le Balai Citoyen) – received his political education as a teenager in the Pioneer movement.[5]

The Sankarists have been prominent in both the 2011 Burkinabé protests and the 2014 Burkinabé uprising. The latter successfully overthrew President Blaise Compaoré in late October 2014, forcing the leader to resign and flee the country to the Ivory Coast and causing a military takeover. Thomas Sankara has been cited as a major inspiration for the protesters,[15] some going as far as dubbing the uprising the "Revolution 2.0" in reference to Sankara's "Democratic and Popular Revolution" during the 1980s.[16]

Sankarist organisations

Burkina Faso

Historical and current Sankarist groups include:

Abroad

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is a Black nationalist, far-left political party in South Africa, founded in 2013 by Julius Malema, the controversial former President of the African National Congress Youth League. The party is currently the third-largest party in both houses of the South African parliament, receiving 1,169,259 votes and a 6.35% share of the vote in the 2014 general election. The EFF claims to take significant inspiration from Sankara in terms of both style and ideology.[5] In a May 2014 column, the prominent EFF member Jackie Shandu declared his party a "proudly Sankarist formation".[17] Expelled from that party, Andile Mngxitama founded Black First Land First in 2015, with black consciousness and Pan-Africanist policies and a Sankarist leadership ethos.[18]

Didier Awadi, a Senegalese hip hop musician and one of the most prominent rappers in Francophone West Africa, describes Thomas Sankara as his greatest inspiration politically.[19] He has recorded several songs referring to Sankara, and visited the killed leader's family in Burkina Faso. In 2003 he formed "Studio Sankara", a music label and recording studio.[20]

See also

References
  1. Levy, Brian; Kpundeh, Sahr John, eds. (2004). Building State Capacity in Africa: New Approaches, Emerging Lessons. Washington D.C.: World Bank Publications. p. 138. ISBN 082-136-000-0.
  2. Bonkoungou, Mathieu (17 October 2007). "Burkina Faso Salutes "Africa's Che" Thomas Sankara". Reuters. Archived from the original on 9 December 2012.
  3. "Opposition leader advocates "Sankarism"". PanaPress. Dakar. 5 November 2000. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  4. Gandaogo. "Convention Panafricaine Sankariste, CPS" [Sankarist Pan-African Convention, SPC]. thomassankara.net (in French). Archived from the original on 20 June 2010. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  5. Duval Smith, Alex (30 April 2014). "'Africa's Che Guevara': Thomas Sankara's legacy". British Broadcasting Corporation. London. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  6. Zeilig, Leo (2018). A Certain Amount of Madness: The Life, Politics and Legacies of Thomas Sankara. Pluto Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt21kk235. ISBN 978-0-7453-3757-9. JSTOR j.ctt21kk235.
  7. "Vaccination commando: Burkina Faso". Salubritas. 8 (4): 1. October 1985. ISSN 0191-5789. PMID 12340574. Archived from the original on 10 March 2021.
  8. Kessler, Susi (1987). "Speeding up child immunization" (PDF). World Health Forum. World Health Organization. 8: 216–220.
  9. Murrey, Amber (2020), Oloruntoba, Samuel Ojo; Falola, Toyin (eds.), "Thomas Sankara and a Political Economy of Happiness", The Palgrave Handbook of African Political Economy, Palgrave Handbooks in IPE, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 193–208, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-38922-2_10, ISBN 978-3-030-38922-2, S2CID 226439167, retrieved 31 December 2020
  10. Dodman, Benjamin (17 January 2021). "Can the 'Great Green Wall' carry out Sankara's ecological, pan-African dream?". Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  11. "Africa's Che Guevara and Burkina Faso - African Agenda – A new perspective on Africa". africanagenda.net. 9 January 2020. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020.
  12. Peterson, Brian (2 March 2021). Thomas Sankara : A Revolutionary in Cold War Africa. Indiana University Press. pp. 12–14. ISBN 9780253053770.
  13. Sankara, Thomas (2007). Prairie, Michel (ed.). Thomas Sankara Speaks: the Burkina Faso Revolution: 1983-1987. United States: Pathfinders Press. pp. 20–21.
  14. Hughes, Arnold (1992). Marxism's Retreat from Africa. London: Psychology Press. p. 100. ISBN 071-464-502-8.
  15. Kobo, Kingsley (31 October 2014). "Burkina Faso: Ghost of 'Africa's Che Guevara". Al Jazeera. Doha. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  16. Cummings, Basia (30 October 2014). "Burkina Faso's revolution 2.0". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  17. Shandu, Jackie (22 May 2014). "The Sankarist makings of the EFF". Daily Maverick. Johannesburg. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  18. "Black First! – Land First! A revolutionary Call". News24. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  19. "Didier Awadi avoue sa vénération pour Sankara" [Didier Awadi confesses his veneration for Sankara]. www.seneweb.com (in French). Seneweb.com. 16 October 2012. Retrieved 8 November 2014.
  20. Brahm, Laurence J. (2014). Fusion Economics: How Pragmatism is Changing the World. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 125. ISBN 978-113-744-418-9.
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