Defining the Nation: Protest and National Identity in North Africa

This paper takes a comparative look at Sudan, Morocco, and Algeria, at the rise of Nubian and Amazigh rights groups, and their attempts to redefine national identity. We examine: 1/ how Nubian rights groups have sparked what is being called a Kushite revival in Sudan, and are pushing for a change in educational policy and archaeological practice to engender a new historiography and national narrative; 2/ how Amazigh movements in Morocco and Algeria are similarly trying to expand conceptions of national identity, pressing to alter language and educational policy; and 3/ the rise of anti-racist campaigns that are trying to introduce a discourse on slavery, and new norms to define racism, while also pushing for a change in migration policy for sub-Saharan migrants.