(I) Colonists divided Africa into more than 50 states, whose boundaries were set without regard for where the people lived or how they organised their own political divisions, (II) Many Africans have long dreamed of unifying their continent into a giant "United States of Africa." (III) After World War II, along with the rise of nationalism in colonial territories, there emerged a continent-wide Pan-African movement. (IV) The dream of a United States of Africa remains distant. (V) But African governments have already participated in several international and regional organisations designed to promote African unity.