One of the central political challenges facing numerous African, Asian, and Middle Easterncountries over the past half-century has been how best to maneuver successfully through therelated, but not necessarily parallel, processes of creating and articulating a national identity,achieving independence from colonial rule, and developing predictable and legitimate institutionsof governance (that is, state formation). How a national community elects to approach theseformidable tasks is influenced by a plethora of factors, including the constraints and opportunitiesrepresented by the international and regional environment and the attributes of key leaders.Understanding this phenomenon is not simply an academic exercise, as the strategies pursued mayhave a significant impact on the shape the eventual state takes.