Africanism was a pan-Africanist ideology arising in Burkina Faso during the late 2040s and early 2050s. It had its ideological roots in Sankaraism. Ever since Thomas Sankara's radical four-year rule of what was then Upper Volta (he renamed the nation Burkina Faso) in the early 1980s, his ideas had held currency with Burkinabés. Sankara's principles of African economic independence, women's equality, freedom from slavery and serfdom, education and literacy had been adopted by many opposition groups in Burkina Faso during the 60 years before they rose again in the uglier garb of Africanism.
Africanism's roots were in Sankaraism, but the movement adopted its techniques, language, and racism directly from the European fascism of the 1940s, picking up the internationalism of hopeful communists along the way - though of course, this internationalism was limited to Africa and Africans.
Ideology
Africanism, like most successful philosophies, had at its heart a story. Here is that story:
Black Africans are the naturally superior race of humans. They are scientifically proven to be more evolved, having at longer to do so and not having “mongrelized” themselves with Neanderthals and Homo erectus. Black Africans are smarter, stronger, cleverer, and generally better than other people. Europeans realized this early on and hence acted quickly to suppress Africans out of fear of being replaced by superior Africans. Thereafter Europe worked hard to suppress Africa and keep the continent and its people from realizing its true potential. Soon afterwords, other groups - the Indians, the Chinese, the Arabs - realized the same and joined with the Europeans to keep Africa down, both through outright colonialism and economic oppression.
This story was the foundation for Africanism. Its appeal lay in the value of redeemed potential. Africanism was a racist and neo-fascist ideology, believing that African governments should ideally be top-down and headed by strong, charismatic leaders. Africanists also genuinely believed in the equality of the sexes and in environmentalism - both, they believed, part of a true African heritage.
The millions of blacks in the Americas, be they African-Americans, Jamaicans, or Brazilian pardos, were thought by Africanists to be untrustworthy and “mongrelized,” converted to the ways of the inferior peoples. Africanism never sought nor received any support from outsiders. On the other hand, Africanism was highly supportive of black African unity - the ideology held that black Africans of all religions, ethnic groups, and regions should come together as one - and indeed, one of the reasons for its success was a general continental weariness with Islamic and Christian extremism. Africanism transcended religion and country to try to unite Africans as one race.
Africanist governments were characterized by a top-down (fascist) structure, huge public works projects, and an inability to tolerate dissent. It was an evangelical ideology, meaning that Africanist nations believed it to be their solemn duty to spread their philosophy to other countries. This meant, in practice, isolation from their neighbors, huge military-buildups, and constant warfare. At its peak, Africanism held sway over almost all of Africa's interior, and over 300 million people lived under governments that called themselves Africanist.
History
From the mid-2040s, the Sankarist Pan-African Convention, a Burkinabé opposition group, carried out an armed struggle against the military junta that had been in power since 2034 led by General Moussa Poitroipa. The country had stagnated under longtime dictator Blaise Compaoré, who ruled 1987-2032. After a two year-struggle, Poitroipa, the Army Chief of Staff, emerged supreme over Compaoré.
The Sankarist Pan-African Convention, CPS in French, was led by a young idealist named Gnisso Konaté. He fought for democracy, women's rights, and African economic freedom within a Sankaraist context. Konaté turned down several offers of aid from American and Indian intelligence agencies, who sought the manganese Army Chief Poitroipa sold instead to China. Konaté refused their help, saying instead that “Africans must help themselves.” The rebellion gained steam, and CPS marched on the capitol in 2049. In the confused fighting, Poitroipa's plane was shot down, and Gnisso Konaté, the young, charismatic freedom fighter, was killed by a sniper. His top lieutenant, Moussa Oedraogo, took the reins instead.
Oedraogo proved effective and reorganizing the country and moved quickly to schedule elections within six months, revive Burkina Faso's broken economy and guarantee equality for women. He was a canny negotiator, quickly winning diplomatic support from Western countries. China even allowed Oedraogo's diplomats to take Burkina Faso's seats at the UN.
However, less than a week before elections were to be held, a Chinese-backed coup attempt took place, and Oedraogo was wounded and embittered. He seized absolutist powers, suspended the scheduled election, and emerged soon afterwards with a new vision for the country - Africanism. And the rest, as they say, is history. By 2070, six African nations - Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, South Sudan, the CAR, and the Federated States of the Congo - were ruled by Africanist governments, and several others had troubles with Africanist rebels.
Actually, for the rest of the story (there's a lot more), read the full timeline at this link!