Lines on the Map: Africa's Political Boundaries

Many of Africa's borders were drawn by European powers in the late nineteenth century, often in negotiations far from Africa, such as those surrounding the Berlin Conference of 1884–85. Some followed rivers or lines of latitude and longitude, which explains the straight borders across the Sahara. Geographers call such lines superimposed boundaries because they were imposed on existing cultural landscapes, sometimes dividing peoples like the Maasai between Kenya and Tanzania or the Somali between several states, and sometimes grouping rivals together.

At independence, African leaders faced a choice: redraw the map or keep the inherited lines. In 1964 the Organisation of African Unity resolved to respect existing borders, judging that reopening them could set off endless wars. As a result, Africa's borders have changed very little, with the main exceptions being Eritrea's independence in 1993 and South Sudan's in 2011. Historians still debate how much these boundaries explain later conflicts and development challenges.