The Second World War was a watershed in African political development. Drafted by their colonial rulers into fighting for world democracy and freedom, Africans were fired with determination to achieve that same goal for themselves. The ensuing struggle against colonialism eventually led to the independence of most sub-Saharan African countries in the 1960s beginning with Ghana in 1957. Throwing off the yoke of British, French, Belgian, and eventually Portuguese imperial rule, they became members of the United Nations in their own right.

The newly independent countries were launched on the basis of British or French parliamentary systems, imposed from above with the agreement of the new political elites. These either failed to deal satisfactorily with the problems of ethnic division and economic development or were simply rejected for ulterior motives. One-party states (for example, Zaire, Kenya, Zambia) and socialist experiments (for example, Congo, Tanzania) emerged to take their place. However justified, the costs were exceedingly high. In many countries the ruling power bloc was identified with a dominant ethnic group, so that the attempt to build new national identities heightened rather than eliminated ethnic divisions or tensions. Conflict, civil war, and military coups became endemic, and have remained a constant threat to democratic rule in many countries. With the notable exception of the churches, civil society virtually disappeared and the power of the state became all-encompassing. The euphoria of liberation celebrated at independence dissipated in repetitive failure and growing alienation.