La violenza politica in Africa

African countries are heterogeneous in various ways but share a marked common trait, the one of political violence. Deeply linked to colonial intervention and then adopted by nationalist leaders during the post-independence period as the main instrument of control and claim, it becomes a structural and multifaceted phenomenon that characterizes most of the continent. Using an anthropological and historical approach and considering a specific case study, the Burundian case, the goal of this article is to reflect on the transformation of the concept of political violence and on how it is used by different social actors. From state repression to popular resistance, it also aims to reflect on protest movements and on the tendency towards their depoliticization.