France and the New Imperialism : Security Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa

The role of French security policy and cooperation in Africa has long been recognized as a critically important factor in African politics and international relations. The newest form of security cooperation, a trend which merges security and development and which is actively promoted by other major Western powers, adds to our understanding of this broader trend in African relations with the industrialized North. This book investigates whether French involvement in Africa is really in the interest of Africans, or whether French intervention continues to deny African political freedom and to sustain their current social, economic and political conditions. It illustrates how policies portrayed as promoting stability and development can in fact be factors of instability and reproductive mechanisms of systems of dependency, domination and subordination. Providing complex ideas in a clear and pointed manner, France and the New Imperialism is a sophisticated understanding of critical security studies. Providing complex ideas in a clear and pointed manner, France and the New Imperialism is a sophisticated understanding of critical security studies.

The role of French security policy and cooperation in Africa has long been recognized as a critically important factor in African politics and international relations. The newest form of security cooperation, a trend which merges security and development and which is actively promoted by other major Western powers, adds to our understanding of this broader trend in African relations with the industrialized North. Yet this book argues that French involvement in Africa is not in the interest of Africans, since French intervention continues to deny African political freedom and to sustain their current social, economic and political conditions. Moreover it illustrates how policies portrayed as promoting stability and development can in fact be factors of instability and reproductive mechanisms of systems of dependency, domination and subordination.

Providing complex ideas in a clear and pointed manner, France and the New Imperialism is a sophisticated understanding of critical security studies.

"The role of French security policy and cooperation in Africa has long been recognized as a critically important factor in African politics and international relations. The newest form of security cooperation, a trend which merges security and development and which is actively promoted by other major Western powers, adds to our understanding of this broader trend in African relations with the industrialized North. Yet, this book argues that French involvement in Africa is not in the interest of Africans, since French intervention continues to deny African political freedom and to sustain their current social, economic and political conditions. Moreover, it illustrates how policies portrayed as promoting stability and development can in fact be factors of instability and reproductive mechanisms of systems of dependency, domination and subordination."--BOOK JACKET Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 List of Tables 8 Acknowledgements 10 List of Abbreviations 12 1 French Security Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa 14 2 The Symbolic State, Security, and Symbolic France 24 3 Colonizing the Political in Africa: Underwriting French Hegemony and Proscribing Dissent 42 4 Authorizing Hegemony: French Power and Military Cooperation, 1960-1994 62 5 Into the Twenty-First Century: Liberal War, Global Governance, and French Military Cooperation 86 6 Making (In)Security: The Use of Force to Master Violence 106 7 Complicity in Genocide: France in Rwanda 134 8 Hegemonic Struggles, Hegemonic Restructuring: France in Côte d’Ivoire 162 9 Conclusion: France and the New Imperialism 184 Bibliography 188 Index 200 Security Policy in Sub-Saharan Africa