In light of the discrepancy between Britain's and France's postcolonial security roles in Africa, which seemed already determined half a decade after independence, this book studies the making of the postcolonial security relationship during the transfer of power and the early years of independence (1958-1966). It focuses on West Africa, and more specificially the newly independent states of Nigeria and C´te d'Ivoire, which rapidly evolved into key players in the postcolonial struggle for Africa. Based on research in fourteen archives in Africa, Europe, and the United States,
Postcolonial Security comparatively investigates the establishment of formal defence relations, the disintegration of the Anglo-Nigerian 'special relationship' and the Franco-Ivorian 'neo-colonial collusion', the provision of British and French military assistance to their former colonies and the competition they faced from West Germany and Israel respectively, and the Anglo-American partnership in Nigeria
and the Franco-American rivalry in C´te d'Ivoire. It demonstrates that whereas Britain was rapidly and increasingly pushed out of and replaced in the Nigerian security sector by western competitors, France succeeded in retaining its military foothold and pre-eminence in C´te d'Ivoire.
Informed by postcolonial approaches,
Postcolonial Security argues that while London's Cold War blinkers and Paris's neo-imperial agenda were part of the equation, the postcolonial security relationship was ultimately determined by the Nigerian and Ivorian elites, which in turn responded to their local and regional circumstances against the background of the Cold War in Africa.
Industry Reviews
For anyone interested in the complex relationship between the Cold War, decolonization and post-colonial security in Africa this book is a must-read. Wyss provides the first ever systematic, comparative analysis of the establishment of postcolonial security relationships in Cold War Africa. The book will be of interest to historians but also to scholars of Area, Development, and Security Studies, as well as International Relations. * Tony Chafer, Professor of French and African Studies, University of Portsmouth *
Spotlighting the local concerns that impelled Cote d'Ivoire's durable alignment with France in contrast to Britain's rapid loss of strategic pre-eminence in Nigeria, Postcolonial Security is comparative history at its best. Marco Wyss searches for patterns and similarities in the regional preoccupations of two West African states, whose security strategies followed very different paths in the wake of decolonization. * Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History, University of Exeter *
This book stands as a remarkable achievement. Using a wide range of archival material, Marco Wyss explores in wonderful detail the evolving nature of the security relationships between Britain and Nigeria, and between France and Cote d'Ivoire, in the early postcolonial era. The research underpinning the book is astonishingly comprehensive, and the resulting granularity which Wyss has been able to provide is deeply impressive. The book makes a seminal contribution to our comprehension of Africa's Cold War, which in many ways has been only superficially understood for too long. Wyss has drawn us a new set of maps by which to navigate the scholarly terrain and shows us what is possible through exhaustive research. Historians of modern Africa, and of modern international relations, owe him a debt of gratitude, and I anticipate that the book will remain the standard reference for some years to come. * Richard Reid, Professor of African History, University of Oxford *
Postcolonial Security represents a major contribution to the fields of imperial, African, and Cold War history, and is strongly recommended to scholars in these respective fields. * Geraint Hughes, King's College London, UK, War in History *
