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Industrialisation and national identity in modern Africa

Hosted by the Department of International Development

In-person and online public event (Old Theatre, Old Building)

Speaker

Professor Elliott Green

Professor Elliott Green

Chair

Professor Ken Shadlen

Professor Ken Shadlen

The late LSE Professor Ernest Gellner famously proposed that industrialization generated modern national identities. Yet there has been very little empirical attention to examining the validity of Gellner’s theory using cross-national data, especially within the developing world.

In this inaugural lecture Elliott Green will examine the effects of industrialization on national identification in contemporary Sub-Saharan Africa and show that industrialization and economic development more broadly have a surprisingly strong positive impact on the development of nationalism in the African context. The lecture will conclude with wider thoughts on how and why industrialization continues to transform national identities in the contemporary world.

Meet our speaker and chair

Elliott Green is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of International Development at LSE. His research focusses on the politics of ethnicity and nationalism as well as the political economy of development, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. His most recent book is Industrialization and Assimilation.

Ken Shadlen is Professor of Development Studies in the Department of International Development at LSE. His research explores the interaction between international changes and national political processes as states navigate the challenges of late development in the global economy.

More about this event

This event will be available to watch on LSE Live. LSE Live is the new home for our live streams, allowing you to tune in and join the global debate at LSE, wherever you are in the world. If you can't attend live, a video will be made available shortly afterwards on LSE's YouTube channel.

The Department of International Development (@LSE_ID) promotes interdisciplinary postgraduate teaching and research on processes of social, political and economic development and change.

This event is part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science 2024, taking place from 19 October to 9 November with events across the UK.

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