Title: Igbo cultural diplomacy and peace building in pre-colonial Nigeria

Authors: Francis C. Odeke

Addresses: Department of History and International Relations, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Ebonyi, Nigeria

Abstract: Diplomacy establishes mutual and healthy relations among individuals and groups pursuing different socio-political and economic interests. Among the Igbo of Nigeria, diplomacy was mostly pursued through cultural means in the pre-colonial days. By that, the Igbo maintained cordial inter-group relations and attained good socio-political and economic heights in trade and their other engagements. Using the primary and secondary sources of data, this work considers how the pre-colonial Igbo nurtured peace with their cultural practices for socio-political and economic gains and the effectiveness of those practices in maintaining the peace of the time in Nigeria. The paper is analytic and thematic. It contends that the Igbo cultural approach to diplomacy, if incorporated into the business of the global community, could help the world since the approach successfully secured relative peace in socio-political and economic engagements as desired in contemporary international system.

Keywords: pre-colonial Nigeria; Igbo land; culture; diplomacy; global peace and security; peaceful co-existence; economic interests.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDIPE.2025.143994

International Journal of Diplomacy and Economy, 2025 Vol.11 No.1, pp.29 - 43

Received: 14 May 2023
Accepted: 15 Sep 2023
Published online: 20 Jan 2025 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article