Leiden University Student Repository

Matthias, Rhiannon (2023)

The Beginnings of One Zambia, One Nation: The Zambian First Republic and the Lumpa Sect

Master thesis | Political Science (MSc)

This thesis uses a single case study on the Lumpa Church, a movement whose growth and practices wreaked havoc during the late colonial period in Zambia. The conflict between the sect and the state represented a period of violence and devastation in a country reputed for its unity in diversity and peace, therefore there exists a fundamental need to provide a comprehensive account of how the state was able to overcome such bloodshed. This thesis explores the historic anomalies and conscious policy that united the Zambian state in order to challenge ahistorical and essentialised readings of identarian conflict and Sub-Saharan Africa as a region.

Sectarian violence

Social movements

Sub-Saharan Africa

Author

Matthias, Rhiannon

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict, and Development

Supervisors

Dr Frank de Zwart

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en