Building African Citizenship: Independent Mali and Post-Imperial France

FAIN: FT-53267-05

Gregory Mann
Columbia University (New York, NY 10027-7922)

I plan to write a history of the creation of new political communities—and the construction of African citizenship—in the last years of French colonial rule in West Africa (1946-60) and in the first years of Mali’s independence under a ‘radical’ regime (1960-68). This research agenda has two separate axes, the first being an analysis of the construction of citizenship in an international context through an exploration of Malian migration to France. The second axis considers political membership through the discipline and coercion generated and endured by citizens and other political subjects under late colonial and ‘revolutionary’ rule. I am seeking support for travel to France and Mali to pursue research on immigration (the first axis).

Associated Products

What was the indigénat? The ‘Empire of law’ in French West Africa (Article)
Title: What was the indigénat? The ‘Empire of law’ in French West Africa
Author: Gregory Mann
Abstract: What was the indigénat? This article approaches this question via three arguments. First, a study of the indigénat (the regime of administrative sanctions applied to colonial subjects) challenges the idea that French West Africa formed part of an ‘empire of law’. Second, a dynamic spectrum of political statuses developed around the indigénat until its abolition in 1946. This spectrum is no less significant than one of its poles alone, that of colonial citizens. Third, the indigénat, its narrative of reform, and its relationship to law, bureaucracy, and authority illuminate the tensions between imperial rhetoric and colonial governance.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: doi:10.1017/S0021853709990090
Periodical Title: Journal of African History
Publisher: Cambridge UP

Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the 20th century (Book)
Title: Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the 20th century
Author: Gregory Mann
Abstract: Argues that the military experience between France and Africa was fundamental not only to their colonial relationship but also to the reconfiguration of that relationship in the postcolonial era. This book explains that among Africans the belief that France has not compensated the African veterans of its wars is widely held and frequently invoked.
Year: 2006
Publisher: Duke University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 082233755X

Prizes

David H. Pinkney Prize
Date: 3/16/2007
Organization: Society for French Historical Studies
Abstract: best book in French history published in 2006; co-winner

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