The Aftermath of Mass Starvation: Rethinking the Politics of Accountability for and Commemoration of Famines in Africa

Abstract

Famines have a deep socio-economic and political impact on states and societies and have recurrently occurred in many African countries. The aftermath of famines draws attention to important questions about accountability and memorialization, which have not been adequately explored in academic research. This thesis studies how famines are accounted for (or not) and how they are integrated into (or excluded from) state-led commemorative work in Africa. By examining six countries that have experienced major famines since the period of independence (Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo), the thesis aims to gain a deeper understanding of how African countries address past famines through transitional justice processes and official commemorative efforts. Various popular beliefs, misconceptions, and political sensitivities affect both the understanding of famines and the pursuit of accountability and commemoration in their aftermath. By framing famines as violence, this thesis draws attention to their preventability and the role of human action or inaction in causing them. The thesis finds that there is a noticeable exclusion of famines from transitional justice processes and official state-led commemorative efforts in the studied countries despite their profound impact. While transitional justice mechanisms have become a common method for addressing accountability for past violence, famines remain marginalized, particularly in legal mechanisms such as trials. Even where famines were directly linked to armed conflicts, attempts to investigate famine-related cases often failed to result in legal accountability in the form of prosecution. Although human rights advocates have attempted to push for famine accountability, the dominant focus of transitional justice remained on direct forms of violence. Furthermore, official state commemorations tend to neglect famines, favoring the commemoration of past violence that supports the national or group identity construction efforts of the state and the political legitimacy of those in power. However, the memories of famines persist within society through oral traditions, artistic expressions, and digital platforms, where political actors invoke the memory of past famines on social media to engage in current political contestations.