Neocolonialism in Africa
Senior 6 · History
Neocolonialism in Africa
Lesson 2 of 4
25 min
Djibouti, on the Horn of Africa, has fewer than two million people, yet it hosts military bases of several foreign powers: France, the United States, Japan, Italy and, since 2017, China. Its position beside one of the world's busiest shipping routes, where the Red Sea meets the Gulf of Aden, makes it valuable to all of them, and the rent they pay is an important income for the state. Is this a sign of neo-colonialism, or of a small state using its position to its own advantage? Keep the question in mind as you study the indicators below.
Definition
Indicator (of neo-colonialism): a sign or measure that shows outside control may exist, such as a high share of raw materials in exports or a large foreign debt.
Manifestation: the concrete form outside control takes in practice, such as a foreign military base or conditions attached to a loan.
Structural adjustment programme (SAP): a package of policy conditions attached to loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in the 1980s and 1990s, such as cutting public spending, removing subsidies, devaluing the currency and selling state companies.
Conditionality: the practice of giving loans or aid only if the receiving government adopts policies the lender or donor demands.
Brain drain: the emigration of skilled and educated people, such as doctors and engineers, to richer countries.
| Area | Indicators | Manifestations and examples |
|---|---|---|
| Economic | exports dominated by one or two raw materials; large foreign debt; key sectors owned by foreign firms; trade mainly with the former colonial power | structural adjustment conditions in the 1980s and 1990s; foreign ownership of mines and oil; a currency managed with a foreign power (the CFA franc, below) |
| Political | governments that depend on outside backing to stay in power; foreign advisers in ministries | outside involvement in the removal of leaders, as in the Congo in 1960–1961 (Unit 7); support for friendly dictators during the Cold War |
| Military | foreign bases and troops; defence agreements; dependence on imported arms | French forces stationed in several former colonies for decades after independence; foreign bases in Djibouti |
| Cultural | a foreign language as the main language of government and schooling; foreign media dominant; brain drain | school curricula and textbooks based on the former colonial power's; prestige attached to foreign goods, accents and lifestyles |
The CFA franc was created by France in 1945 for its African colonies. After independence fourteen states kept it, in two zones: eight in West Africa and six in Central Africa. The currency was tied at a fixed rate first to the French franc and, since 1999, to the euro, with a guarantee from the French Treasury. In return, the central banks had to deposit a large share of their foreign reserves with the French Treasury, and French representatives sat on their boards.
Supporters say the CFA franc has kept inflation low and the currency stable. Critics say it ties monetary policy to Europe, makes African exports more expensive and is a symbol of continued French control. In December 2019 France and the eight West African states announced a reform: the obligation to deposit reserves in Paris and the French seats on the board would end, although the fixed link to the euro remained.
In the late 1970s and 1980s, oil price rises, falling raw-material prices and high interest rates left many African states unable to pay their foreign debts. To get new loans, more than thirty African governments accepted structural adjustment programmes. Some aims, such as controlling inflation, were reached, but cuts in health, education and farm support fell hardest on the poor, and decisions about national budgets were effectively made in Washington. From 1996 the IMF and the World Bank's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative cancelled part of the debt of the poorest countries; Rwanda completed it in 2005.
Since 2000, China, India, Turkey, the Gulf states and others have become major lenders, builders and trading partners in Africa. Some critics argue that large loans for roads, railways and ports, repaid with raw materials or income, could create a new dependence. Others answer that these partners offer finance that the old lenders would not, with fewer policy conditions, and that African governments choose the projects. A historian's task is to test such claims with evidence from each case, not to accept either view in general.
Warning
An indicator is not proof. A foreign base, a loan or the use of English or French does not by itself prove neo-colonialism. Ask who decides, who benefits, and whether the African state could refuse. Djibouti, for example, negotiates and is paid for its bases.
Tip
Indicator → manifestation → evidence. In an essay, link each point in three steps: the indicator (dependence on one export), how it shows itself (prices and policies set from outside), and a dated example (structural adjustment in the 1980s). This chain earns the analysis marks.
Important
Discuss. In 2019 eight West African states reformed the CFA franc but kept its link to the euro. Was this an end to neo-colonial control, a step towards it, or neither? Use evidence from both sides.
Practice
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the analysis, the table, the case studies and the exercises.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
