Adolescence versus Politics: Metaphors in Late Colonial Uganda

In late colonial Uganda, British social scientists, development experts, religious leaders, and administrators used the metaphor of adolescence to explain political unrest. If Uganda could be seen as an adolescent, upheaval in the model colony was a sign of successful growth, not a rejection of British administration or global ideas of development and progress. Using the metaphor of adolescence, experts emphasized the period’s turmoil as signs of biosocial, adolescent maturation, rather than symptoms of political competition, clashing class interests, or ethnic patriotisms. Through this powerful metaphor, British observers rejected any politics based in different values, interests, or goals.