Diplomacy and Nation-Building in Africa

Cameroon stands as a remarkable example of nation-building in the aftermath of European domination. Split between the French and British empires after World War I, it experienced a unique drive for self-determination at the turn of the 1960s, culminating in both independence from European power and the re-unification of two of its divided territories. This book investigates the influence of foreign policy on nation-building in West Africa in the context of both the Cold War and European integration. Shedding fresh light on the challenges of bridging the political, economic and linguistic divide that France and Britain had left, Melanie Torrent explores the evolution of a nation, charting both Cameroon's importance in Franco-British relations and Cameroon's use of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy in asserting its independence. This work should be essential reading for students of African studies, International Relations and the post-colonial world.

Mélanie Torrent is Professor of British and Commonwealth History at the Université de Picardie Jules Verne, France, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University in London, UK and was a junior member of the Institut universitaire de France. She is the author of Diplomacy and Nation-Building: Franco-British Relations and Cameroon at the End of Empire (2012).

Introduction Commonwealth membership at independence: threatening, irrelevant, impossible Chapter 1. Cameroon's official politics: reunification and diplomatic balance The assets and challenges of reunification in Cameroon The national and international politics of bilingualism Chapter 2. Cameroon's diplomatic bias towards the Francophone world Francophone identity and Cameroon's position in Africa An undesirable Commonwealth link: perceptions of Britain, Nigeria and Ghana Chapter 3. The Southern Cameroons and the Commonwealth: star-crossed partners? Independence within the Commonwealth: a very fleeting offer Reunification outside the Commonwealth and international pressure Development politics: the Commonwealth's continuing presence in Cameroon Chapter 1. France and Cameroon's international options for development France's heavyweight presence in Cameroon Towards the diversification of partners Chapter 2. Imperial preference in West Cameroon West Cameroon and British interests Europe, the Commonwealth and Cameroon Chapter 3. The Commonwealth as a valuable partner The influence of the Canadian mirror The Commonwealth, a champion for African development in times of crisis The Commonwealth's renewed appeal and the imperative of national unity Chapter 1. Cameroon's continuing Francophone bias The reality of reunification: from federation to centralisation Cameroon's complex relations with L'Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT) Chapter 2. The Commonwealth and the necessity of Anglophone diplomacy Safeguarding national unity A way into official membership of the Francophonie Chapter 3. The democratic imperative in a multilateral context The changing face of Cameroonian politics The national and international instrumentalisation of diplomacy Conclusion Appendices Chronology of Cameroon - Commonwealth relations Bibliography Index