Ethnic and Religious Dynamics of the North-South Conflict as a Colonial Legacy in Africa: An Analysis of the Sara Tribes

This study endeavors to scrutinize the effects of colonial-era political governance policies on the north-south conflict in the Republic of Chad, analyzed through the complex interplay of ethnic and religious dynamics. The research employs in-depth interview data collected from Chiefs of the Christian Sara tribes in southern Chad, utilizing Ted Gurr’s “relative deprivation” model as a theoretical framework for analysis. Chad, a Francophone nation, emerged as a strategic outpost for France in the Sahel region following the Berlin West Africa Conference of 1884. This formal colonial regime persisted until the early 1960s, culminating in Chad’s nominal independence. However, rather than entering a postcolonial phase, Chad’s trajectory has been marked by a neocolonial continuity, with colonial powers, pioneered by France, maintaining their strategic interests in the region. Concurrently, the internal power struggles among Chadian political actors have exacerbated structural issues across various domains, including the economy and social fabric. This period witnessed the emergence of a dialectic rooted in ethnic and religious identities, particularly between the northern and southern regions of the country. Initially, this dialectic was dominated by the Christian Sara tribes, who held political power from 1960 to 1975. However, this dominance was reversed in the post-1975 period, especially with the ascension of the Deby family and the Zaghawa tribe in 1990, marking the onset of an era characterized by northern Muslim hegemony. Consequently, this shift in power dynamics fostered a sense of marginalization and exclusion among the Sara tribes, leading to an intensification of ethnic and religious division against the northern factions. Within the Sara tribes, who consider themselves the original and rightful inhabitants of Chad, there have been intermittent calls for secession, reflecting deep-seated grievances and a desire for autonomy.