A better understanding of the present situation in sub-Saharan Africa may be gained by comparison with analogous developments in Europe. The role of absolutism in nation-building is paralleled by the Colonial period, the European nation-state by the emergent nations of the post-Colonial period. Three types of nationalism can be distinguished in European history: (a) demotic nationalism which aims at homogenizing culturally heterogeneous populations included arbitrarily into political units according to democratic principles, (b) ethnic nationalism aiming at the inclusion of each major ethnic society into one state of its own, and (c) restorative nationalism which advocates the autonomy and ultimately independence of formerly independent political units now submerged into larger political structures. Demotic tendencies in African nationalism may be recognized among leaders bent upon the building of a new nation within the given boundaries of Colonial administrative units according to the Western democratic model. Pan-Africanism on the other hand appears to be a type of ethnic nationalism while restorative tendencies find their expression in tribalism. On the basis of this comparison and past experiences in European nation-building seven hypotheses are presented regarding the relevance of the ethnic factor in nationalist ideologies and policies.