Statebuilding and International Recognition: Biafra, Secession, and the Norms of Territorial Integrity in the OAU Era

This dissertation provides an original historical and theoretical analysis of the international responses to the Biafran secession attempt from 1967 to 1970, examining how the Organisation of African Unity's handling of the Biafra crisis shaped the development of African norms on territorial integrity, self-determination, and non-interference that continue to influence contemporary African diplomacy. The Biafran war was a foundational moment in African international relations, testing the newly established OAU's framework on secession and producing doctrinal precedents that shaped African responses to subsequent secessionist claims in Katanga, Eritrea, Somaliland, and South Sudan. Drawing on constructivist norm formation theory, historical sociology of international relations, and African international law, this study analyses the diplomatic practices and normative arguments of OAU member states during the Biafra crisis, reconstructing the process through which African states converged on a strong anti-secession norm that prioritised territorial integrity over self-determination. Primary data are drawn from archival research in OAU archives in Addis Ababa, the Nigerian National Archives in Ibadan and Enugu, the United Kingdom National Archives, and United States State Department declassified cables. The dissertation makes theoretical contributions to constructivist norm formation theory by showing how power asymmetries, colonial-era boundary anxieties, and leadership entrepreneurship interact to produce rapid norm consolidation in newly established regional organisations. Keywords: Biafra, OAU, territorial integrity, norm formation, African diplomacy.