L'Afrique depuis 1940

by Frederick Cooper, Christian Jeanmougin (Translator)

À la fois chronologique et thématique, «L'Afrique depuis 1940» fait le pont entre les périodes coloniale et postcoloniale en étudiant les changements qui ont accompagné la fin des empires, mais aussi tous les processus qui se sont perpétués après l'indépendance. Abordant les questions économiques et sociales sur l'ensemble de la période 1945-2000 et montrant qu'entre les sociétés africaines et le reste du monde se tenait un « État garde-barrière », il dépasse un débat stérile, celui qui attribue les causes de la situation actuelle de l'Afrique, soit à une mauvaise gouvernance, soit à l'héritage colonial.

Genres: History, Africa, Nonfiction, Politics, Post Colonial, Academic

416 pages, Pocket Book

First published October 10, 2002

About the author

Frederick Cooper is an American historian who specializes in colonialization, decolonialization, and African history. Cooper received his Doctor of Philosophy from Yale University in 1974 and is currently professor of history at New York University.

Cooper initially studied the labor movement in East Africa, but later moved on the a broader consideration of colonialism. One of his best known conceptual contributions is the concept of the gatekeeper state.

Reviews

[Mikko Kärkkäinen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am currently, right after having read this book, reading the book The State of Africa by Frederic Cooper. These two books are basically about the same subject and precisely about the same era and location (Africa since about the 1940's). However, they could not be much more different in their way of storytelling and amount of detail.

This book, Africa Since 1940, is a relatively short description of several decades of events that have shaped Africa. The shortness is not a weakness because the book maintains the same level of detail throughout without omitting any major details, events or countries.

The book is quite hard to read for a non-native English speaker. It shows that it is primarily University textbook material. The sentences are often long and filled with difficult words too.

It is an interesting read after all. In a way, the writer tries to go behind the scenes of the events like mass strikes, wars, coups etc. and instead of vividly describing events, people and countries, he tries to describe the social, economic and cultural aspects behind them. One of the most important things in the book is the description of the so-called gate-keeper state, how it is created, what maintains it and what eventually leads to its ruin. As a comparison, The State of Africa talks about the same things but its way of writing is less academic, focusing on what is probably more interesting to the masses (like many pages long descriptions of individuals, wars and other events etc).

I'm glad I got these two books to read because they complement each other well.

[Craig Werner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough overview of Africa from the years lead up to independence to the early 2000s. Cooper stresses a set of central themes: the failure of the colonial regimes to prepare Africa for independence (worse in some places than others; worst in the Belgian and Portuguese spheres); the promise and disappointment of "development," a process that was rickety at best during the 60s, but absolutely savaged by the oil price increases of the 70s; and the dangers of "gatekeeper" states in which a small group controls the revenues from resources like cocoa, coffee or oil. The problems with the book are inherent in the format of the series it's part of. You simply can't cover 60 years and a multitude of states in 200 pages (even if you bracket off North Africa, as Cooper does). There weren't many places where I felt like his generalizations were totally off base, but there were many cases where he doesn't present enough detailed evidence to support the assertions.

This would be a good book for an introductory survey that had space for a single book on Africa, but I was hoping for a bit more depth.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended as an introduction to African history. It is a fairly difficult read for someone who goes into it knowing very little. The volume of information is overwhelming and not well structured for an introduction. I think it is probably a great resource for those with some familiarity with the history.

[AskHistorians]

Possibly one of the most important works on late- and post-colonial Africa, Cooper's work incorporates broader themes such as the rejection of a monolithic African nationalism, and the intense relationship between white settlers and Africans into the narrative of decolonization and liberation wars. Arguably the best introduction to the history of African in the second half of the twentieth century.

[flaams · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very clear description of what post colonial Africa looked like.
The volume provides information without being too biased (as I thought it would be).
It was a good reading before my exam and offered me several points of reflection.

[Erinayo Adediwura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for my Honors Research Seminar. I appreciated that the scholars did not take anything for granted he interrogate everything, even the most minuscule things or the things that seemed insignificant, and to me that is what makes a true historian!

[Vladimir Prudnikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucid language, strong yet nuanced analysis, judicious choice of case studies - ‘Africa since 1940’ is as far away as it gets from blandness one sometimes associates with the textbook genre

[Benjamin Fasching-Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

After demonstrating continuities between the colonies and their successor states, he zooms out and looks at how global trends played differently in various regions of the continent. A long chapter on development is probably a good introduction to that complicated mess. His sober analysis gets some teeth as he describes the "gatekeeper" state: states where the only path to wealth is to be a part of a government that signs contracts with multinational corporations to extract resources, with the government's cut of the money, politicians can patronize clients to maintain power. The trick is to effectively repress rival warlords and grassroots opposition.

Seems to me 'decolonization' was just tired old European empires handing the goods over to corporations, who promptly outsourced the colonial administration onto local dudes with varying success. African states that actively resisted this wound up on the losing side of coldwar proxy wars. I am skeptical that China's role in Africa will be any different.

[Gerard]

Cooper's knowledge of modern Africa is enormous. And the way he frames the period of decolonization, both the strategies of the empires and of the opposition, pays heed to the complexities of the moment. Nkrumah famously said to seek the political kingdom first, but there is strong evidence here that putting aside Pan-Africanist ideals and basic socioeconomic demands for the sake of a political autonomy that still remains ambiguous might not have been the best way to advance African freedom.

[Yannicke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction in African history. Short but clear. A springboard to further research.

[Patrick J-O'B · Rating 4 out of 5]

1973: The Year Progress Ended?

[Kai Waluszewski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting overview of 60 years of mostly Sub-Saharan history. Explores key concepts including decolonisation, development, the gatekeeper state, relationship networks etc.

Personally, I would have preferred less focus on agriculture/labour and a deeper dive into key historical events—some of them felt glossed-over. Some of the questions and suggestions for the future the author posed were also riddled with empty lofty terms and felt more like an afterthought than anything concrete.

[Julian Pritchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cooper’s other books have been more theoretical and interesting, this one is kind of like a textbook to introduce 20th century African history. It’s not bad, but it focuses on some countries a lot more than others.

[Jasper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Educational, but boring.

[Thompson Urhiofe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can be a difficult read but very informative

[Corey Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read with many ideas being introduced and explained.

[Anna Shuff · Rating 4 out of 5]

pretty good, kind of repetitive

[Armistead B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid introduction. Written in a pseudo textbook style (which it is) it's worth reading for the further reading sections if nothing else.

[Daniel Peña · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este es un libro sobre la historia de África desde 1940, en efecto. Pero una historia de esas características se puede escribir de muchas maneras, así que resulta necesario especificar un poco más.
Primero, este libro no es un manual académico. No está pensado para ello, ni se puede utilizar con ese propósito. No es sistemático, no habla de todo lo que ha ocurrido, ni de todos los espacios. En ese sentido, Cooper es bastante selectivo. No se habla apenas de Idi Amin, no se menciona en todo el libro a Sankara y la masacre de Ruanda se trata en la introducción. El motivo de esto es sencillo, y se relaciona con lo siguiente.
Segundo, este libro no es descriptivo, sino fundamentalmente explicativo. Describe los hechos y acontecimientos pero con el fin de explicar el contexto. Por eso mismo, Cooper no necesita hablar de todos y cada uno de los regímenes de África, ni de cada una de las descolonizaciones, sino que va escogiendo los ejemplos más interesantes para trazar un cuadro que permita comprender cuáles han sido las tendencias históricas de África desde 1940. Esto tiene su parte positiva: el libro no es una sucesión de hechos, fechas y acontecimientos, y su parte negativa: quien no conozca en profundidad la historia de África desde 1940 se sentirá un poco perdido en ocasiones y echará de menos un conocimiento más básico.
Tercero, este es un libro difícil. El libro es interesante, Cooper explica y explica, y lo hace bien. Es un gran autor. Sin embargo, y enlazando con el asunto que he mencionado en el anterior párrafo, es un libro poco accesible para un lector no especializado, para quien busque algo fácil de leer y digerir. El autor explora y bucea en comunidades productoras de cacao y en las mujeres africanas que se mudaron a las ciudades (por ejemplo), y traza explicaciones inteligentes, sin duda, pero complejas.

En resumen, este no es un mal libro, ni mucho menos, es un grandísimo libro de historia. Pero es un libro académico, con explicaciones difíciles de seguir y teorías que resultan ajenas a los que no sean especialistas en la materia. El resultado: una obra de difícil lectura destinada a un público con un nivel de conocimientos e interés muy alto; aún así, se puede aprender bastante con ella.

[Daniel Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really interesting look as how African nations evolved from their colonial heritage to what they are today, and how the states are continuations of the colonial regimes set up in place. I enjoyed the description of the 'gatekeeper' state, how the majority of moneys and materials flows through the gate guarded by whoever is in power, allowing for corruption and abuse of power.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good survey and guide to further reading.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Essential to the understanding of African History!

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to modern Africa. Short and concise, it analyses the social, economic, cultural, and political relationships throughout Africa, and Africa’s relation to the rest of the world. It does not give explicit detail of each country individually, instead broadly examining certain trends throughout the African continent. It is a book meant as a place to begin understanding modern Africa, not to fully encompass everything that has happened in the last 80 years.