Routledge

Chapter Resources

Chapter 17: Africa: Decolonization and Independence, 1945–2007

Debates

Debating the African state

Maps

Decolonization in Africa

Discussion Questions

  1. Account for the British decision to grant independence to Ghana in 1957.
  2. Why did the European empires in Sub-Saharan Africa collapse so rapidly after 1957?
  3. “The FLN lost the military battle, but won the political war.” Discuss this assessment of the Algerian War of Independence.
  4. “The legacy of colonialism in Africa was that it was impossible to build effective nation-states.” Discuss.
  5. Why did Nkrumah's vision of a united Africa fail to come to fruition?
  6. “The Cold War is largely irrelevant to the political history of Africa between 1947 and 1991.” Discuss.
  7. Account for the longevity of the apartheid regime in South Africa.
  8. “Apartheid fell when it ceased to be economically advantageous to the white population.” Discuss.
  9. What effect did the end of the Cold War have on Africa?
  10. Why and with what consequences did the Hutu extremists initiate a policy of genocide in Rwanda in 1994?

Weblinks

This chapter does not lend itself to weblinks — please refer to the recommended reading in the textbook for additional support material.