Colonialism began in 1884-1885 when the Berlin Conference initiated the “Scramble for Africa.” At that time, the continent was divided among colonizers that had little understanding of ethnicities, languages, and politics of people living there. Some scholars think that geography and pre-colonial political systems also influenced the creation of boundaries between colonies. However, historical research proves that colonizers established borders that did not correspond to ethnic and political divisions. This paper analyses how boundaries inherited from colonial times affect political, economic, and social relations in Africa, a continent comprising 54 countries. Using the results obtained in various fields of study, it demonstrates that ethnic partitioning leads to civil conflicts, separatism, distrust in governments, economic underdevelopment caused by disruption of historical trade routes and lack of access to water, social problems associated with separation of people with shared culture into several independent states. After analyzing existing literature on the subject, conducting a qualitative analysis based on the theory of artificial states and path dependence, the author concludes that maintaining old boundaries despite their negative impact became the reason why post-colonial states did not fight each other in 1964 (as proposed by the Organization of African Unity).
Keywords: Artificial States, Berlin Conference, Colonial Borders, Conflict, Regional Integration
