The End of Empire in French West Africa - France's Successful Decolonization

In an effort to restore its world-power status after the humiliation of defeat and occupation, France was eager to maintain its overseas empire at the end of the Second World War. Yet just fifteen years later France had decolonized, and by 1960 only a few small island territories remained under French control.The process of decolonization in Indochina and Algeria has been widely studied, but much less has been written about decolonization in France''s largest colony, French West Africa. Here, the French approach was regarded as exemplary -- that is, a smooth transition successfully managed by well intentioned French politicians and enlightened African leaders. Overturning this received wisdom, Chafer argues that the rapid unfurling of events after the Second World War was a complex , piecemeal and unpredictable process, resulting in a ''successful decolonization'' that was achieved largely by accident. At independence, the winners assumed the reins of political power, while the losers were often repressed, imprisoned or silenced.This important book challenges the traditional dichotomy between ''imperial'' and ''colonial'' history and will be of interest to students of imperial and French history, politics and international relations, development and post-colonial studies.>

Product details

• Authors: Tony Chafer, Chafer Tony
• Publisher: Berg Publishers Ltd
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 01.06.2002
• EAN: 9781859735572
• ISBN: 978-1-85973-557-2
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 138 mm x 216 mm x 13 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; France, European History, HISTORY / Modern / General, HISTORY / Europe / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Colonialism & Post-Colonialism, 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000, HISTORY / Africa / West, c 1500 onwards to present day, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, Colonialism and imperialism, African History, West Africa, National liberation and independence, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General