From Political to National Identity in Zanzibar. Narratives on Changes in Social Practices

Abstract

Uniting under a shared overarching identity has been emphasised as a way of overcoming intergroup conflict. If people increasingly see themselves as members of the same identity, this should influence emotions and behaviours towards—and evaluations of—former outgroup members. Little is known, however, of such processes in intergroup conflict. Zanzibar (Tanzania) has been the scene of conflict between the competing ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (the party of the Revolution) and the equally large opposition party Civic United Front, since 1992. The conflict resulted in salient polarised political identities, which influenced the social structures of Zanzibar, and often stood in the way of a shared Zanzibari identity. Leaders would often cross over to the other side of the street when meeting an opposing political leader; party-songs were played at weddings, alienating—and at times ridiculing—the other party; and the businesses and ceremonies of opposing party members were frequently boycotted. In 2009, a reconciliation process was initiated, calling for a focus on the shared Zanzibari identity. Slowly, changes in relations were manifested in changed social practices. Based on semi-structured interviews (N = 68) in Zanzibar with members of the general population (N = 57) and political leaders (N = 11) and against the backdrop of a larger fieldwork project, this chapter explores how people talk about the reconciliation process and its influence on social practices. The majority of the respondents expressed that they saw themselves increasingly as Zanzibaris rather than polarised into opposing political parties, and that this in turn led to changes in social practices.

Appendix: Zanzibari Background

Zanzibar’s population is divided between two main islands: Pemba (400,000), and Unguja (900,000). Together with former Tanganyika, Zanzibar makes up the Republic of Tanzania. The Republic and Zanzibar each has a president and parliament, and within this union Zanzibar is semi-autonomous.

The division in Zanzibar is between two relatively equally sized parties: incumbent CCM and opposition party CUF. The latter is strongest on Pemba (which is often referred to as the opposition island), and Pemba has long been economically and politically marginalised (Bakari 2011). The divide can be traced back to turbulent periods in the late 1950s and early 1960s with identity divides influencing politics. There is no significant difference today between the populations of Unguja and Pemba (or CUF and CCM): they share language, culture, religion, and way of life. According to CUF, CCM has stolen every election victory since the reintroduction of multiparty rule in 1992 (with several election observations supporting this claim). Election periods have been especially turbulent.

Three former peace agreements have failed (Muafaka I-III). CUF supporters, especially in Pemba, frequently have a harder time registering for the necessary documents to vote (see ILPI 2010), and in July 2009, with the commencement of establishing a permanent voter registry, intergroup relations again deteriorated. In November 2009, however, political leadership from both parties initiated a reconciliation process and called for cooperation and peace (see Moss and Tronvoll 2015). Leaders from both sides emphasised the shared Zanzibari identity, and asked people to focus on their commonalities over their political differences. The general population was sceptical at first, but many came to endorse the situation. This process overlapped with growing anti-union sentiments in Zanzibar, where many Zanzibaris wanted more autonomy for the archipelago. In July 2010, through a referendum, the establishment of a Government of National Unity (GNU) was decided. After non-violent election campaigns and a very peaceful election, CCM won the 2010 election with 50.1% of the vote. CUF got 49.1% of the vote. The peace was still maintained, and the GNU was established (see ILPI 2010).