Also available in hardback, 9781859735527 GBP50.00 (June, 2002)
Tony Chafer Principal Lecturer in French and African Studies,University of Portsmouth
'The clarity of argument and the wealth of detailed information in this balanced and attractive account ... deserves a large audience of lay readers and specialists alike.'Mamadou Diouf, African History'In the first place, it is by far the fullest and most discriminating account in English of the decolonization of France's West African empire: that is to say, of the process by which the attempts of the fourth republic to create a strong (but radically reconstructed) French Union ended with the recognition of nine independent states. Besides re-telling and re-focussing this narrative in light of new research and changing perspectives, Dr Chafer's knowledge of African sources, oral and documentary, enables him to make important original contributions to the subject. He argues convincingly that pressures from below -- notably from trade Unions and youth groups - imposed on the 'assimilationist nationalism' of the post-war leadership more radical programmes, which gave priority to the goal of independence without requiring complete severance of colonial connections. His book provides essentail clues to an understanding of the sometimes ambiguous role of the successor states in the postcolonial world'Professor John Hargreaves, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Aberdeen'This is a masterly account of French decolonization based on considerable research in Africa and Europe, analysing the many problems of both the past and the present.'Douglas Johnson, Professor Emeritus, University College London'It is an invaluable teaching resource It is also a carefully researched and well-referenced monograph It is, above all, an insightful and discriminating study of all the key actors and events involved in decolonisation Overall, this is a concise, readable and original survey which will be a key text for students of French history, African politics and international relations.'The Journal of Contemporary European Studies'As a syntheis of French West Africa's decolonization, Chafer's book constitutes a useful resource for scholars of modern African and French history and a broader history of colonialism.'Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History
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