An Example of Pan-Africanist Leadership in The Process of Nation Transformation: Burkina Faso and Thomas Sankara

Year 2023, Volume: 11 Issue: Afrika, 102 - 113, 30.09.2023

Ensar Küçükaltan

https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1339558

Abstract

The first independence process in African countries began in Ghana in 1957 with the struggle led by Kwame Nkrumah. This struggle spread to other parts of the continent throughout the sixties and African nations gained their independence one after the other. One of the most important intellectual outcomes of the process was the idea of Pan-Africanism (United Africa), which envisioned a future beyond independence. This idea has taken different forms, expanded by the ideas of many national heroes who have become symbols for their nations. Apart from Nkrumah, names such as Sankara, Lumumba, Cabral have interpreted this ideology in their own way. Among these leaders, Thomas Sankara distinguished himself by combining the ideal of nation transformation with Pan-African thinking. The formation of the Burkinabe identity and the evaluation of this identity from a larger perspective within a unified African imaginary distinguishes Burkina Faso and Sankara from the others.

Keywords

sankara, burkina faso, pan-africa

Ulus Dönüşüm Sürecinde Pan-Afrikanist Bir Liderlik Örneği: Burkina Faso ve Thomas Sankara

Abstract

Afrika ülkelerinde bağımsızlık süreçlerinin ilki Gana’da 1957 yılında Kwame Nkrumah önderliğindeki mücadele ile başlamıştır. Bu mücadele, altmışlar boyunca kıtanın diğer bölgelerine de yayılmış ve Afrika ulusları üst üste bağımsızlıklarını kazanmıştır. Sürecin en önemli fikri çıktılarından biri, bağımsızlığın daha ötesinde bir gelecek tahayyülü içeren Pan-Afrikanizm (Birleşik Afrika) düşüncesidir. Bu düşünce, ulusları için sembol haline gelen pek çok ulusal kahramanın fikirleri ile genişlemiş farklı formlara ulaşmıştır. Nkrumah haricinde Sankara, Lumumba, Cabral gibi isimler, bu ideolojiyi kendilerince yorumlamışlardır. Thomas Sankara, sayılan liderlerin arasında ulus dönüşümü ideali ile Pan-Afrika düşüncesini birleştirmesi özelliği ile farklı bir konum kazanmıştır. Burkinabe kimliğinin oluşumu ve daha büyük bir pencereden bu kimliğin birleşik bir Afrika tahayyülü içerisinde değerlendirilmesi, Burkina Faso ve Sankara’yı diğerlerinden ayırmaktadır.

Keywords

sankara, burkina faso, pan-afrika

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