Nationalism and Decolonization in Africa during the Cold War
Cold War International History Project History and Public Policy Program Africa Program On April 8, 2008 Dr. Elizabeth Schmidt, professor of history at Loyola College in Maryland and Dr. Gregory Mann, professor of history at Columbia University, presented summaries of their most recent books Cold War and Decolonization of Guinea, 1946-1958 (2007) and Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century (2006). In September 1958 Guinea claimed its independence by rejecting the French Constitution that would have given French colonies a subservient position in the French Union. Rejection of the constitution meant, as French President Charles DeGaulle had made clear, immediate independence. In her analysis of Guinea's path to independence, Schmidt addressed several key issues including the agency of grass root activists, the French reaction to the unexpected secession, and the post-referendum rise of Sékou Touré as a dictatorial leader. According to Schmidt, all these factors, placed in the context of the Cold War, stirred certain attitudes among French and international elites and shaped the process of decolonization in Guinea. Being the only colony to cast a "no-vote" in favor of direct independence, Guinea is recognized as a unique case, Schimdt stated. The historical roots of this outcome, however, still remain obscure. In Schimdt's terms Guinea's decision could only be understood in the broader politics of the Cold War in France, where the communist threat determined to a varying degree the country's foreign policy. Event speakers: Dr. Elizabeth Schmidt, Dr. Gregory Mann
