The collection summarizes the results of research by leading Russian Africanists on a wide range of issues related to the historical self-identification of Africans. The focus is on the forms and channels of transformation of interracial and interethnic relations and types of ethnopolitical consciousness in the countries of Tropical Africa (based on the material of South Africa, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, etc.), as well as in African communities beyond its borders (USSR/Russia, USA, Great Britain) in the colonial and post-colonial eras. Various aspects of the problem are considered in the broad context of confrontation and interaction between traditional, pseudo-traditional and modern forms of consciousness and behavior. A comprehensive analysis of the theories of African nationalism (Afrocentrism, Pan-Africanism, etc.) is carried out, the nature and reasons for the strengthening of interracial and interethnic hostility and ways to overcome it in modern Africa and in countries where the African diaspora exists are revealed. For a wide range of readers, primarily historians, political scientists, ethnologists, cultural experts and journalists. Editor-in-chief A. B. Davidson Author team: Davidson A. B., Balezin A. S., Gorodnov V. P., Ivanova L. V., Krivushin I. V., Litinsky A. L., Mazov S.V., Nikulichev S.Yu., Filatova I.I., Tsypkin G.V., Shcherbakov N.G. Reviewers: Dr. ist. Sciences Ryabinin A.L.Dr. Sciences Cherkasov P. P. International Secretariat P. I. 9351Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaEast Africa