Colonial Power and National Identity: Pierre Mendes France and the History of French Decolonization - Softcover

Demker, Marie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9173350109 ISBN 13: 9789173350105

Publisher: Santerus Academic Pr, 2008

Synopsis

This study addresses the puzzle why Pierre Mendès France as French Prime Minister managed to grant Indochina independence through negotiations, but neglected the same demand from Algeria. In the mid-1950s, France was experiencing not only a political crisis but also a crisis of national identity. The author shows that there were competing national identities among the French foreign policy elite, and that the struggle among different identity conceptions was a determinant factor in the outcome of the Indochina and Algeria cases. Pierre Mendès France tried to decolonize France by making France a European power. This seemed successful when France left Indochina, but it turned to be a failure when Algeria demanded its independence. The research material represents a unique collection of speeches, letters, radio performances, opinion polls, media debates and internal working papers. Marie Demker is a Swedish Political Science professor at Göteborg University and Södertörn University College in Sweden. She has written several books and articles on foreign policy, French politics and party politics.

About this edition

• Publisher: Santerus Academic Pr
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 9173350109
• ISBN 13: 9789173350105
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160