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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Friend or foe? Official perceptions of African political leaders and activists in French West Africa 1944-60
| Panel |
84. Rethinking Colonial Governance in sub-Saharan Africa: comparative perspectives on local actors, policies and practices (1915-1965)
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| Paper ID | 728 |
| Author(s) |
Chafer, Tony
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Much has been written about French perceptions of Africans in the pre-colonial and colonial period (Cohen, 1980; Schneider, 1982; Nederveen Pieterse, 1992). There has however been no systematic study of official perceptions of African political leaders and activists in the late colonial period. The central contention of this paper is that such a study can add a further dimension to our understanding of the decolonisation process and its legacy in French West Africa. In particular, it can help us to understand how good relations were cultivated with those who were perceived as '˜friendly nationalists' while radical nationalists were marginalised as 'Communists' and 'extremists'. While this situation was by no means unique to French West Africa, its consequences for the decolonisation process and political legacy can only be understood in the context of the unique institutional structures and interpersonal dynamics between French governing elites and their counterparts in French West Africa that emerged after the Second World War. |
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