There is almost no country in Africa where it is not essential to know to which tribe, or which subgroup of which tribe, the president belongs. From this single piece of information you can trace the lines of patronage and allegiance that define the state.
Interpretation
Understanding tribal affiliations is crucial for navigating political dynamics in African countries.
This quote by Christopher Hitchens highlights the significance of tribal identity in African politics. It suggests that knowing the tribal connections of a country's president can reveal the intricate networks of loyalty and support that shape governance and political power, indicating how deeply rooted communal ties influence state affairs in many African nations.
In practice
In a political discussion about tribalism in Africa, this quote can underscore the importance of understanding tribal dynamics.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way — because it’s had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But you’ve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
I think, at the end of the day, especially for municipal elections, we see relatively low voter turnout. So the goal is to expand who sees themselves reflected in government, who's empowered to take the lead in politics.
If you had to work in the environment of Washington, D.C., as I do, and watch those men who are so imprisoned and so confined by their eighteenth-century thought patterns, you would know that if anybody is going to be liberated, it's men who must be liberated in this country.
He mocks the people who proposes that the government shall protect the rich and that they in turn will care for the laboring poor.
A politician, he knows that the majority cares little for ideals or integrity. What it craves is display.
No part of the education of a politician is more indispensable than the fighting of elections.
Governments are supposed to lie to their citizens.
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