阶级、种族和民族之间的关系是理解任何复杂的、分层的、多元社会的关键。除了象索马里、斯威士兰和莱索托少数几个国家之外,非洲大陆上的政体都是多元社会,也就是多民族的国家。甚至完全是单一民族的国家(以文化和语言为标准),象布隆迪和卢旺达这两个国家,由于剧烈的社会分裂也发生过激烈的争斗;就是象索马里这样内部基本上是同一个种族的国家,也一直在与其邻国进行着民族统一的战争,试图把国家疆界和民族边界划得完全 The relations among classes, races and peoples are the key to understanding any complex, hierarchical and pluralistic society. Except for the few countries like Somalia, Swaziland and Lesotho, the political systems on the African continent are pluralistic societies, that is, multi-ethnic countries. Even completely single-ethnic states (both culturally and linguistically), as in Burundi and Rwanda, fierce battles have also taken place because of the intense social divisions; the ones that are essentially one and the same race in Somalia Has also been engaged in a national unification war with its neighbors in an attempt to draw the boundaries of the national frontiers and the national frontiers completely