The Bilad al Sudan: the common heritage as a basis for regional co-operation

Integration of the countless ethnic groups of the Bilad al Sudan took place with the aid of trade and under the banner of Islam, creating similar institutions with regard to education, justice, religion and administration. Colonial rule ‘balkanised’ the area into artificial entities, which retrospectively can be considered a big step backwards on the path to regional integration, and otherwise often shattered symbiotic links between neighbouring groups. Nevertheless a number of common traits of the populations of the Sudanic belt have persisted to the present and the region more than ever constitutes a de facto economic community which needs only formal recognition. The author formulates a number of recommendations to make the peoples of the Sudanese belt aware of their common heritage and the hidden bonds which make them basically one people. Bibliogr., sum. in French.