Reports
Discussion Papers
No.746 Ideological Orientation of the Educated Youth in Tanzania: A Literature Review
March 2019
ABSTRACT
Since the political and economic liberalisation in the mid-1980s and the early 1990s, Tanzania has witnessed a combination of liberal and socialist values and practices in the public sphere. It has influenced political views of Tanzanians, including the youth who do not have the lived experience of the socialist period led by the founding president, Julius Nyerere. This study examines the ideological views of Tanzanian educated youth, and their interactions with national politics to deepen our understanding of contemporary Tanzania. As the first step of the study, this paper provides a brief literature review on three themes: 1) ideology/ideologies and socialism in general and in sub-Saharan Africa; 2) the historical background of Tanzania with a focus on President Nyerere and his socialist ideology, ujamaa; and 3) the re-emergence of ujamaa as moral principles in post-socialist Tanzania. The reviewed literature suggests that Tanzanians, including the youth, have incoherent ideological views today, which may be a result of the deliberate silence on the ideological aspects of Nyerere and ujamaa by the political elite in public debates.
Keywords: ideology, socialism, youth, Tanzania
PDF available at http://hdl.handle.net/2344/00050800
Please note that discussion papers are works in various stages of progress and most have not been edited and proofread and may contain errors of fact or judgment. Revised versions of these papers may subsequently appear in more formal publication series. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s). The IDE does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included and accepts no responsibility for any consequences arising from its use.