Francophone Africa at Fifty

Description

France's presence on the African continent has often been presented as 'cooperation' and part of French cultural policy by policy-makers in Paris - and quite as often been denounced as 'the longest scandal of the republic' by French academics and African intellectuals. Between the last years of French colonialism and France's sustained interventions in former African colonies such as Chad or Cote d'Ivoire during the 2000s, the legacy of French colonialism has shaped the historical trajectory of more than a dozen countries and societies in Africa. The complexities of this story are now, for the first time, addressed in a comprehensive series of essays, based on new research by a group of specialists in French colonial history. The book addresses the needs of both academic specialists and those of students of history and neighbouring disciplines looking for structural analysis of key themes in France's and Africa's shared history. -- .

Tony Chafer is Professor of Contemporary French Studies at the University of Portsmouth; Alexander Keese is a Visiting Scholar at the University of Portsmouth -- .

'Francophone Africa at Fifty is aimed at generalists and specialists alike. For those wishing to learn about this often-neglected part of the world, and especially for those with an interest in its history, this book is an excellent place to start.' Craig Phelan, Kingston University London, Political Studies Review, May 2016 -- .