Manchester University Press
13 A fragmented and forgotten decolonisation
Abstract
This chapter reviews the historiographical imbalance and to offer an alternative interpretation of the end of Empire in the Sahara. It discusses the role and impact of post-colonial African states on ethnic groups which straddle several countries born as a result of the end of empire, a situation not uncommon in many regions of the continent. The chapter focuses on the case study of the Saharan region; it raises questions that could be usefully extended to other regions of Africa where decolonisation did not prove to be a factor of stability or emancipation of minorities. In a striking irony, the fragmentation of the Sahara has led to the formulation of demands which, if successful, would lead to a further partition of the region, given that a unification of all Saharan regions has become a clearly unattainable goal.
Abstract
This chapter reviews the historiographical imbalance and to offer an alternative interpretation of the end of Empire in the Sahara. It discusses the role and impact of post-colonial African states on ethnic groups which straddle several countries born as a result of the end of empire, a situation not uncommon in many regions of the continent. The chapter focuses on the case study of the Saharan region; it raises questions that could be usefully extended to other regions of Africa where decolonisation did not prove to be a factor of stability or emancipation of minorities. In a striking irony, the fragmentation of the Sahara has led to the formulation of demands which, if successful, would lead to a further partition of the region, given that a unification of all Saharan regions has become a clearly unattainable goal.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of illustrations ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Notes on contributors xv
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
- 1 Gaston Defferre’s Loi-Cadre and its application, 1956/57 15
- 2 A vocation for independence 30
- 3 French officials and the insecurities of change in sub-Saharan Africa 44
- 4 'Saving French West Africa’ 61
- 5 The French Army and Malian independence (1956–1961) 75
- 6 Transfer of military power in Mauritania 90
-
Part III Continuities and connections
- 7 Franco-African security relations at fifty 107
- 8 French coopération in the field of education (1960–1980) 120
- 9 Jacques Foccart 135
-
Part IV Anglo-French relations
- 10 Whitehall, the French Community and the Year of Africa 155
- 11 A transnational decolonisation 171
-
Part V Nationalist trajectories, border issues and conflicted memories
- 12 The changing boundaries of resistance 189
- 13 A fragmented and forgotten decolonisation 204
- 14 Through the prism of the cinquantenaire 219
- 15 Chad’s political violence at 50 233
- Bibliography 249
- Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of illustrations ix
- Abbreviations xi
- Notes on contributors xv
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
- 1 Gaston Defferre’s Loi-Cadre and its application, 1956/57 15
- 2 A vocation for independence 30
- 3 French officials and the insecurities of change in sub-Saharan Africa 44
- 4 'Saving French West Africa’ 61
- 5 The French Army and Malian independence (1956–1961) 75
- 6 Transfer of military power in Mauritania 90
-
Part III Continuities and connections
- 7 Franco-African security relations at fifty 107
- 8 French coopération in the field of education (1960–1980) 120
- 9 Jacques Foccart 135
-
Part IV Anglo-French relations
- 10 Whitehall, the French Community and the Year of Africa 155
- 11 A transnational decolonisation 171
-
Part V Nationalist trajectories, border issues and conflicted memories
- 12 The changing boundaries of resistance 189
- 13 A fragmented and forgotten decolonisation 204
- 14 Through the prism of the cinquantenaire 219
- 15 Chad’s political violence at 50 233
- Bibliography 249
- Index 275
