This study attempts to interrogate existing constructions of the Sahrawi identity; to disentangle the various conceptions of Western Saharan nationalism by re-framing them, re-historicizing them and then re-examining them. The first step in this process is to provide both a theoretical and methodological backdrop. This is accomplished through a post-colonial critique of ethnography and historiography in the western Sahara, one that is deeply informed by recent cultural struggles in North Africa. Secondly, this study takes these sensibilities and applies them to a new description of the broad historical and social contexts upon which Spanish colonialism and Western Saharan nationalism were grounded. Finally, this study looks at the recent ethnogenesis of the Sahrawi people, concluding that the concept is the product of an interaction between two contending forces, colonialism and anti-colonialism (i.e., nationalism). Far from being an academic exercise with little practical import, this study aims to help observers of, and interveners in, the conflict better understand issues of identity in Western Sahara, which are, for the time being, still the The heart of it all.<\/p>\n
Citation: Mundy, Jacob Andrew. “Colonial Formations in Western Saharan National Identity.” In North African Mosaic: A Cultural Reappraisal of Ethnic and Religious Minorities<\/em>. Edited by Nabil Boudraa and Joseph Krause. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2007: 294-320.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This study attempts to interrogate existing constructions of the Sahrawi identity; to disentangle the various conceptions of Western Saharan nationalism by re-framing them, re-historicizing them and then re-examining them. The first step in this process is to provide both a theoretical and methodological backdrop. This is accomplished through a post-colonial critique of ethnography and historiography in the western Sahara, one that is deeply informed by recent cultural struggles in North Africa. Secondly, this study takes these sensibilities and applies them to a new description of the broad historical and social contexts upon which Spanish colonialism and Western Saharan nationalism were grounded. Finally, this study looks at the recent ethnogenesis of the Sahrawi people, concluding that the concept is the product of an interaction between two contending forces, colonialism and anti-colonialism (i.e., nationalism). Far from being an academic exercise with little practical import, this study aims to help observers of, and interveners in, the conflict better understand issues of identity in Western Sahara, which are, for the time being, still the The heart of it all.<\/p>\n Citation: Mundy, Jacob Andrew. “Colonial Formations in Western Saharan National Identity.” In North African Mosaic: A Cultural Reappraisal of Ethnic and Religious Minorities<\/em>. Edited by Nabil Boudraa and Joseph Krause. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars, 2007: 294-320.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-196","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"yoast_head":"\n