The Horn of Africa, Italy, and After

Note: This introduction presents the objectives of the organizers of the international conference, "The Horn of Africa between History, Law, and Politics," held in Rome in December 2002 to discuss the Italian presence in the Horn of Africa and to reflect on the contemporary political situation.

The historical development of the Horn of Africa is significantly different from the experiences of other African regions. First of all, Italian colonialism left behind it a very complex heritage, a legacy that created a certain distance between Italy and its former colonies. Moreover, after the Second World War, Italian efforts to eradicate the fascist colonial experience from the history of the nation led to the break-up of relations between Italy and the Horn of Africa. The long tradition of scholarship that connected Italy and Africa was also affected—African colonies were completely removed from the collective memory. As a result of this process, the history of Italian colonialism in the Horn and its developments are on the verge of being forgotten.

Since the Second World War, relations between the former Italian Africa and Italy have never been systematically fostered on new bases—as happened in most colonized areas—hence the tradition of studies that connected Italy to its former colonies has been interrupted. Erasing the fascist episode meant that the memory of colonialism was not transmitted to contemporary Italian political culture. In contrast, not only France and England but also Portugal and Belgium maintained connections with their former colonial territories in two main ways: through Africanist studies and research and through cooperation and aid. These potential avenues of connection have been ignored in Italy. Although times have changed, even today, relations between Italy and its former African colonies have not yet settled into a systematic pattern.

Moreover, the former Italian colonies in the Horn of Africa were affected by East-West competition, which had an important impact on political issues. We surely cannot perceive the origins of the crises and wars that affected the area after the 1960s as connected only to this aspect, but we should consider international policies an important influence on political events in the Horn of Africa.

Aside from the historical aspect, we must consider the development, initially very weak, of university cooperation between the countries of the Horn and the former colonial power, together with other European partners. In fact, Italy understood that it was necessary to shatter the colonial and fascist perception of the history of the colonized peoples. The Second World War contributed greatly to this perception. The other European countries have long played only a secondary role in the area, due to the lack of a specific colonial tradition and the unfavorable international political context.

During the 1970s, the Horn of Africa was of particular interest in the Cold War, an experience that has had a profound effect on the political orientation of the states of the Horn. In recent years, intellectuals from the Horn have expressed a desire to extend the humanitarian and developmental links with European institutions to include cultural and academic relations. Such interests are felt and expressed by intellectuals from Addis Ababa, Asmara, and Mogadishu who look forward to reestablishing academic communications at a regional level. The international political situation and the new human rights developments have deeply affected cultural relations between the Horn of Africa and Europe.

It is primarily to meet this challenge that the international organizing committee embarked on launching an international conference in Rome.

The impact of colonialism in general and the Italian presence in twentieth century Africa in particular are important dimensions of the conference. In this context, it is also essential to study the changing realities in Africa through legal institutions in all their aspects and through the complex relationships among customary law, religions, and political systems. This international conference, therefore, aims to reestablish links, with regard to the study of colonial and postcolonial realities, between Italian research institutions and their counterparts in the Horn of Africa. The conference is also an attempt to understand the contemporary history of the Horn and the political...