A place in the world negotiating nuclear power and independence in Africa (1957-63)

Has the nuclear age impacted the history of Africa? This thesis focuses on the relationship between the nuclear age and the process of African decolonisation in the years 1957 to 1963. Through a connected and comparative study of selected European and African states, it invites scholars and students to see nuclear power as an important theme in Africa’s political, diplomatic and technological history. The advent of the nuclear age affected both the timeline and shape of decolonisation, by featuring in negotiations between metropoles and colonies, by influencing the formulation of African foreign policies, and by highlighting tensions between the first generation of African leaders and their respective constituencies. In the late 1950s, the question of nuclear testing was raised almost systematically at major inter-African conferences alongside more familiar issues such as the Algerian War and South African apartheid, thus contributing to the imagination and practice of a postcolonial, Africa-wide polity. As they engaged in the controversy surrounding the harmful or benign nature of radioactive fallout, Africans also participated in the very first international scientific debate about the global environment. Finally, African politicians, university administrators, and scientists hoped that nuclear technologies would contribute to nation-building and improve the quality of life of their fellow citizens.