Imperial Rule and the Politics of Nationalism

ISBN-13: 9781107037090 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 293 str.

Adria Lawrence

Opis

Why did colonial subjects mobilize for national independence from the French empire?This question has rarely been posed because the answer appears obvious: in the modern era, nationalism was bound to confrontcolonialism.This book argues against taking nationalist mobilization for granted.Contrary to conventional accounts, it shows that nationalism was not the only or even the primary form of anti-colonialism.Drawing on archival sources, comparative historical analysis, and case studies, Lawrenceexamines the movements for political equality that emergedin the French empire during the first half of the twentieth century.Within twenty years, they had been replaced by movements for national independence in the majority of French colonies, protectorates, and mandates. Lawrence shows that elites in the colonies shifted from demands for egalitarian reforms to calls for independent statehood only where the French refused to grant political rights to colonial subjects. Where rights were granted, colonial subjects opted for further integration and reform.Nationalist discourses became dominant as a consequence of the failure to reform. Mass protests then erupted in full force when French rule was disrupted by war or decolonization."

Recenzje

"Some of the most rewarding books are those that expose a flaw in conventional wisdom. Adria Lawrence’s Imperial Rule and the Politics of Nationalism discredits the widely held view that nations naturally want to rule themselves. She shows that Moroccans might well have been satisfied by French rule had the French governed them more skillfully. This finding, which is based on impressive research, has huge policy implications concerning the world’s trouble spots."
Timur Kuran, Duke University

Spis treści

1. Introduction: the politics of nationalism in the French empire; 2. Indigènes into Frenchmen? Seeking political equality in Morocco and Algeria; 3. Political equality and nationalist opposition in the French empire; 4. Empire disrupted: nationalist opposition accelerates; 5. Nationalist mobilization in colonial Morocco; 6. Conclusion.