Matt Swagler | Connecticut College (original) (raw)
Publications by Matt Swagler
Panafrikanismus und Antikolonialismus in der Kommunistischen Internationale, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, March 2019 [Link]
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Translator: Sebastian Landsberger), 2019
Nachdem wir anlässlich des 100. Jahrestages der Gründung der Kommunistischen Internationale (Komi... more Nachdem wir anlässlich des 100. Jahrestages der Gründung der Kommunistischen Internationale (Komintern) Anfang März 2019 bereits Beiträge von Jörn Schütrumpf und Lutz Brangsch veröffentlicht haben, wird das Historische Zentrum der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in den kommenden Wochen in unregelmäßiger Folge Texte veröffentlichen, die sich einem viel zu wenig untersuchten Aspekt der Komintern widmen: nämlich dem Wirken der Internationale im globalen Süden und insbesondere dem Aspekt des Antikolonialismus. Im hier veröffentlichten ersten Teil der Reihe untersucht Matt Swagler den Einfluss der Komintern auf den Antikolonialismus in Afrika und darüber hinaus.
In August 1963, a popular uprising in Congo-Brazzaville—the first post-independence revolution in... more In August 1963, a popular uprising in Congo-Brazzaville—the first post-independence revolution in Africa—toppled the government of Fulbert Youlou. In the five years that followed, autonomous youth organizations became the most powerful political and military force in Congo. This article provides two explanations for the rise of these youth organizations. First, we show how a small group of radical students moved quickly to define the “youth” as the key actors in an ongoing revolution. They built mass organizations to defend their vision of the revolution, and, in the process, consolidated their links with international Third World and communist organizations. Second, we show that youth leaders guarded their independence in action but used their ability to mobilize young people in urban spaces in order to become officials within the new government and one-party state. We describe this process as one of “autonomous integration,” which lasted until the suppression of autonomous youth organizations after 1968.
Au Congo-Brazzaville, le soulèvement populaire des 13, 14 et 15 août 1963 (qui a été la première révolution en Afrique après l’indépendance) a permis aux organisations de jeu- nesse de devenir la principale force politique du pays jusqu’en 1968. Durant cette période de transition, les jeunes ont su s’unir au sein d’une même organisation, consolider leurs liens avec des organisations internationales progressistes (notamment grâce aux étudiants congolais à l’étranger) et investir la vie locale pour défendre leur idée de la révolution. Mais ce processus d’autonomisation ne s’est pas fait contre le nouveau pouvoir. Plusieurs leaders jeunes ont intégré le parti unique et le gouvernement du président Massamba-Débat s’est appuyé sur le dynamisme des organisations de jeunesse pour consolider son pouvoir. Il s’agira d’analyser ici ce processus « d’autonomisation intégrée », propre au cas congolais.
Did the Russian Revolution Matter for Africa (Part I). Review of African Political Economy blog, August 2017. [Link]
In the first of a two-part article, Matt Swagler looks at the first years after the Russian revol... more In the first of a two-part article, Matt Swagler looks at the first years after the Russian revolution (1917-1935) and discusses the impact of the revolution on African liberation movements before World War II. In the second part he will consider the impact of the Soviet Union on African politics, development and activism in the decades after the war.
Did the Russian Revolution Matter for Africa (Part II). Review of African Political Economy blog, October 2018. [Link]
In the second part of Matt Swagler’s blogpost on the Russian Revolution, he focuses on how Marxis... more In the second part of Matt Swagler’s blogpost on the Russian Revolution, he focuses on how Marxist ideas became central to African political organizing from the late 1940s through the 1970s—a development which took place at the same time that the Soviet Union emerged as a new global superpower. In the first part of Swagler’s article posted on roape.net last year he argued that the 1917 Russian Revolution had important repercussions in Africa, notably in the new connections formed between Black Marxists from the Americas and trade unionists and anti-colonial figures on the African continent. In the second part of the post he looks at how the USSR (and Soviet doctrines of Communism) began to exert profound influence in Africa precisely at the time when the emancipatory potential of the 1917 Russian Revolution had been obliterated by Joseph Stalin’s campaigns of mass state violence. What was left—the Soviet model of coercive, state-led economic development—was nevertheless appealing to many emerging African leaders who organized newly independent states.
Tunisia: “A Dictator Falls, But What Comes Next?” International Socialist Review 76, March-April 2011. [Link]
Book Reviews by Matt Swagler
Review of Heterosexual Africa? The History of an Idea from the Age of Exploration to the Age of AIDS, by Marc Epprecht. International Socialist Review 71, May-June 2010. [Link]
Select Presented Papers by Matt Swagler
“Senghor’s Statecraft and his Senegalese Critics, 1959-1972.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November.
After becoming head of state in 1959, Léopold Senghor set about consolidating political authority... more After becoming head of state in 1959, Léopold Senghor set about consolidating political authority in Senegal through the creation of what he called a parti unifié (unified party). Senghor distinguished his model from constitutionally-defined single-party states (parti unique) that emerged in the 1960s elsewhere on the continent. Senghor sought to incorporate his opponents into the new ruling party, the Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS), while recognizing that it would be a coalition, rather than a ruling party with a single vision. But when faced with opposition parties and independent organizations that were unwilling to join the parti unifié, Senghor resorted to repressive measures that exposed the boundaries of what political visions the parti unifié was willing to accommodate. This paper examines Senghor’s parti unifié model by looking at his conflicts with those groups who could not, or would not, integrate themselves into the UPS-run state. It is based on a study of Senghor’s writings about the nature of the party, archival research in France and Senegal, and interviews with former UPS leaders and oppositionists. This study shows that the more Senghor monopolized state politics through the UPS, the greater the inability of the party address popular grievances, and the more vulnerable the state became when faced with social upheaval, particularly from 1966 to 1972.
“Brawls and Bulldozers: Revisiting Life in Dakar in 1968.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November.
Chair, organizer and speaker on roundtable: “Senegal 1968: Perspectives on the Rebellion and Cris... more Chair, organizer and speaker on roundtable: “Senegal 1968: Perspectives on the Rebellion and Crisis Fifty Years Later.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November.
“African Independence with French Diplomas? The 1968 Dakar Student Strike and the Question of Sovereignty,” American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 2018.
In May 1968, students at the University of Dakar launched an indefinite strike of classes and exa... more In May 1968, students at the University of Dakar launched an indefinite strike of classes and exams to protest the government’s proposal to reduce their living stipends. The strike quickly spread to secondary schools, transformed into a widespread urban rebellion, and triggered a general workers’ strike across cities in Senegal. This paper examines the factors that led to the students’ protests and their ability to catalyze a broad social uprising that nearly toppled the regime of president Léopold Senghor. Beyond the issue of stipends, students were motivated by a number of political concerns that they had raised throughout the short existence of the University of Dakar. Created in 1957 as the eighteenth French university, the university continued to function as an essentially French institution after independence in 1960. The 1968 strike was a culmination of previous conflicts that had pitted students against French university administrators and Senghor’s government. Based on archival research and interviews with former Senegalese student organization participants, I argue that student activism was focused on two main issues. First, students increasingly rejected French dominance of administrative and pedagogical posts at the university—a demand which found resonance among secondary students who faced similar conditions. Second, student unions in Dakar demanded the re-introduction of democratic rights eliminated by Senghor’s government, including the freedom for student unions to take “political” positions. Finally, this paper reflects on the transnational nature of the strike—not only the strikers’ relationship to the French protests of May 1968, but also the role of students from other countries in West Africa, who outnumbered the Senegalese students at the university.
“Crossing the Congo River: Attacks, Escapes and Reconciliation Between the Two Congos (1960-1970)” The Center for the United States and the Cold War, New York University, March 2017.
For much of the length of the Congo River, it forms the border between the two nations that share... more For much of the length of the Congo River, it forms the border between the two nations that share its name. The countries’ capital cities, Brazzaville and Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) lay just across the river from each other, the closest capitals of different sovereign states in the world. This paper considers the role the river played in the relations between the peoples and governments of the two Congos during the first decade after the end of colonial rule, when tensions between these newly independent states ran high. I argue that because of the close proximity of the two capitals and the fluid border between them, the boundaries of “national” political conflicts were easily blurred during the 1960s. Oppositionists from both Congos used the protection afforded to them by going into exile across the international boundary along the river. Yet the porousness of the border allowed them to remain in close contact with their supporters. This investigation builds on previous work by Charles Didier Gondola through the use of new archival documents and interviews in France and Brazzaville.
“Neither Communism nor African Socialism: African Youth and the Use of Marxist Texts During the Cold War.” Workshop on Youth and Socialism, University of Zurich, May 2016.
This paper explores how interpretations of Marxism were central to the conflicts that pitted yout... more This paper explores how interpretations of Marxism were central to the conflicts that pitted youth and student organizations against early post-colonial governments in Senegal and Congo-Brazzaville. In the decade following the end of French rule in 1960, young oppositionists in both countries engaged in demonstrations, strikes, and even armed actions that significantly altered the course of national and regional politics. While existing scholarship has portrayed these struggles as expressions of generational tension, I argue that many young people in the 1960s were motivated to take action through their engagement in longstanding debates within the Marxist tradition.
First, I show that the intellectual foundation of youth and student organizations rested on the study of Marxist ideas and their subsequent popularization (and re-interpretation) by young African intellectuals. Second, I argue that youth activists articulated their vision of socialism in contradiction to the “African Socialism” and “Bantu Socialism” adopted by government leaders in Senegal and Congo-Brazzaville, opening up public ideological disputes. Third, I demonstrate that most student and youth organization militants simultaneously rejected identification with Cold War forms of Marxism represented by the Communist Parties of the Third International and states such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. Using publications produced by youth and student leaders alongside interviews with militants from the period, I argue that young oppositionists drew from a wide body of Marxist and anti-imperialist thought which they sought to apply to their local conditions. As they articulated their own interpretations, they loosened rigid Cold War Marxist doctrines, opening up space for new articulations of socialism.
“A Revolution Armed and Disarmed: Autonomous Militias in Congo-Brazzaville 1963-1973.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2015.
In 1963, three days of protests in Brazzaville led to the downfall of Congo’s first post-independ... more In 1963, three days of protests in Brazzaville led to the downfall of Congo’s first post-independence government. A group of students and young intellectuals who had participated in the demonstrations feared that supporters of the old regime, the Congolese military, or foreign armies would attempt to overthrow the new government. They set about organizing independent “youth” militias to defend their vision of a “revolution” – one that would cast off lingering elements of colonial rule and bring socialism to central Africa. In this paper, I examine the most important of these armed groups, the Défense civile, which, by 1967, had become larger and better equipped than the Congolese national military. To build the Défense civile, young intellectuals drew upon resources from international Communist and Third World networks outside of control of the new government. I argue that the Défense civile allowed young men and women to enter into political activity in support of the “revolution” while remaining autonomous from the Congolese state. Using Congolese archives and interviews with former participants, I show how the autonomy of young militants created an ongoing political crisis in Congo throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“Decolonization’s Discontents: the African Independence Party (PAI) and the Origins of Post-colonial Opposition in Senegal.” 9th Greater New York Area African Studies Workshop, Princeton University, March 2015.
In this paper, I argue that the Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (PAI) played a crucial role in p... more In this paper, I argue that the Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (PAI) played a crucial role in post-colonial opposition politics in Senegal, despite being outlawed in 1960, after less than three years of existence. The PAI was founded in Senegal in 1957 to advocate for the immediate independence of French colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa. But just ten days after Senegal became an independent state, the government of Mamadou Dia and Léopold Sedar Senghor banned the Senegalese branch of the PAI, and the party was forced underground, until it regained legal status in 1976.
Using archival research and interviews conducted in Senegal and France, I address two main issues in the history of the PAI. First, I show that PAI leaders were integrally connected to trade union and student militants in Senegal in the late 1950s whose vision of independence stemmed from principles of Marxism and Third World solidarity. These organizations challenged Senghor and Dia from the outset, and the government responded with a systematic campaign of repression. Second, I look at how PAI leaders used the connections they had established before being banned to maintain a secret organization in illegality, and train a new circle of student radicals in Dakar. Though the PAI was no longer a public organization, these militants helped form new student organizations at the University of Dakar, and initiated a student strike in 1968 that transformed into an urban rebellion, nearly toppling Senghor’s government. By looking at the history of the PAI during its period of illegality, we can trace the continuity between radical anti-colonial organizations and post-colonial opposition in Senegal.
“Internationalism on the Ground: Expatriates in Congo-Brazzaville after the “Revolution.”’ African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, November 2014.
During the 1960s and 70s, Congo-Brazzaville became a hub for exiled national liberation fighters,... more During the 1960s and 70s, Congo-Brazzaville became a hub for exiled national liberation fighters, opposition groups from neighboring countries, and representatives from various Communist states. My paper shows that these expatriate activists influenced the sharp political conflicts that arose between Congolese youth organizations and the government in Congo-Brazzaville. After the Congo’s first independent government was toppled by a general strike in 1963, the leaders of Congolese youth and student organizations grew in influence, and they pressured the new “revolutionary” government to host an increasing number of political exiles. By the mid 1960s, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) had made Brazzaville their headquarters, along with political exiles from Cameroon and Congo-Kinshasa, who were engaged in struggles against their national governments. At the same time, Congolese youth organization leaders successfully harnessed Egyptian, Cuban, Chinese, and Soviet military trainers and material support to strengthen their organizations. Using archival research and interviews from Congo and France, I show how mass youth and student organizations developed their local demands through their interaction with exiles, and immersed themselves in debates over Pan-Africanism, Third-World solidarity, and Cold War communism.
“Qui définit « la jeunesse »? Les étudiants et la politique des organisations de jeunesse au Congo-Brazzaville, 1963 à 1968." International colloquium, Mouvements étudiants en Afrique francophone des indépendance à nos jours, Université Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, July 2014.
Résumé : Mon travail consistera à comprendre le rôle des organisations de jeunesse dans la poli... more Résumé :
Mon travail consistera à comprendre le rôle des organisations de jeunesse dans la politique nationale du Congo-Brazzaville entre 1955 et 1968. L'histoire des organisations de jeunesse congolaises brouille la distinction traditionnellement faite entre les organisations de jeunesse et les syndicats d'étudiants en Afrique. Au début de la période postcoloniale, les étudiants à travers l'Afrique ont été souvent à l’origine de mouvements d’opposition vis-à-vis des nouveaux gouvernements, comme à Dakar en 1968. En revanche, la plupart des organisations de jeunesse, comme ceux de la Guinée-Conakry et de la Tanzanie, ont été des extensions disciplinées des partis uniques. Toutefois, au Congo, cette distinction n'a pas été aussi évidente. Les étudiants ont joué un rôle déterminant dans les organisations de jeunesse, et ces dernières ont conservé une forte autonomie sous le régime anti-communiste de Fulbert Youlou (1958-1963), ainsi que pendant la présidence pro-socialiste d’Alphonse Massamba-Débat (1963-1968).
Au Congo, l’enseignement secondaire et supérieur s’est développé très lentement après l'indépendance. Dans ce contexte, les organisations mixtes de « jeunes » – comprenant des étudiants, des lycéens, des étudiants qui avaient abandonné leurs études, des jeunes travailleurs, des jeunes chômeurs, et des nouveaux diplômés – ont eu une plus grande audience que les syndicats étudiants seuls. Dans ces organisations de jeunesse, les étudiants et les jeunes diplômés de tendance marxiste ont tenu des postes de direction, surtout ceux qui ont été formés en France dans l'Association d’étudiants congolais (AEC). Les responsables d'organisations de jeunesse ont élaboré une signification politique de la catégorie de «la jeunesse» qui a servi d’outil pour la mobilisation oppositionnelle de masse, et pour accroitre leurs assise populaire. Pour ces dirigeants, « la jeunesse » était l'avant-garde politique des classes exploitées, qui devrait être formé pour mener un nouveau État fondé sur les principes du marxisme.
Ma communication commencera avec l’histoire de l'Union de la jeunesse congolaise (UJC). Fondé en 1955, l’UJC a joué un rôle clé dans l'organisation de l'opposition au gouvernement de Fulbert Youlou, notamment car elle a appuyé la lutte des syndicalistes radicaux. Quand Youlou a été renversé lors de la Grève Générale de 1963, l'UJC et les leaders étudiants sont sortis victorieux. Ils ont alors créé une nouvelle organisation nationale de la jeunesse - le Conseil national de la jeunesse (CNJ) - qui a été a l’origine de la création d'un parti unique dans le cadre de la poursuite de la révolution socialiste. Les dirigeants du CNJ ont ensuite créé la section "jeunesse" du nouveau parti - la Jeunesse du mouvement national de la révolution (JMNR).
Les responsables de la JMNR se sont efforcés de maintenir leur autonomie vis-à-vis du parti unique au pouvoir, tout en poussant le gouvernement vers des objectifs plus radicaux : la nationalisation des grandes entreprises, la réforme du système éducatif, et le développement d'alliances avec les pays communistes. Parallèlement, les dirigeants de la jeunesse ont organisé des comités de vigilance autonomes pour défendre leur révolution (« quartiers jeunesses »), puis des milices de jeunes (« milices populaires » et la « Défense Civile »). Après l'accession de Marien Ngouabi à la présidence par un coup d'Etat en 1968, les organisations de jeunesse ont été progressivement contraintes de se soumettre aux ordres d’un nouveau parti unique.
Cette communication s'appuie sur des recherches d’archives et des entretiens menés au Congo et en France. La relation entre les syndicats étudiants, les organisations de jeunesse, et l'État congolais est renseigné par les fonds des Archives Nationales du Congo [PR 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 20, 23, 30, 31, 37, 58, 61 et Série B], et du Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes (CADN) [Brazzaville Ambassade 7, 8, 21, 24, 35, 32, 51]. Les recherches sur les positions politiques des organisations de jeunesse s’appuient sur les numéros de la revue indépendante congolaise, Dipanda (1963-1968), et sur 30 entretiens enregistrés avec 18 anciens militants de la jeunesse. Les archives du Fond de Jacques Foccart, aux Archives Nationales Françaises, fournissent des informations sur les liens entre les organisations de jeunesse congolais et la Fédération des Étudiants d'Afrique Noire en France (FEANF) dans les années 1960 [FPU 531, 537, 547, 983, FPR 628].
Abstract in English:
Who Defines the “Youth”? Students and the Politics of Youth Organizations in Congo-Brazzaville, 1955-1968.
This paper explores how youth organizations played an increasingly influential role in the national politics of Congo-Brazzaville between 1958 and 1968. During this time, the Congolese Youth Union (UJC) and the Youth of the National Revolutionary Movement (JMNR) attracted thousands of members. These groups openly challenged the policies of both the anti-Communist regime of Fulbert Youlou (1958-1963), and the socialist government of Alphonse Massamba-Débat (1963-1968). Based on archival research and interviews conducted in Congo and France, I will raise three points about their history: First, Congolese youth organizations blurred the distinction between student and youth movements. In the Congo, secondary and higher education expanded very slowly after independence. In this context, mixed “youth” organizations, comprised of students, school-leavers, young workers, unemployed youth, and recent graduates, captured a larger audience than student unions alone. Second, Marxist-oriented students and recent graduates, especially those trained through contact with the international Communist movement, led these organizations. They saw their local activity as part of a global struggle against neo-colonialism and capitalism. Third, youth organization leaders used their intellectual authority to promote “the youth” as the political vanguard of the exploited, who needed to be trained to lead a new state founded on the principles of “scientific socialism.” This definition served as a tool for the mass mobilization of thousands of Congolese under the age of thirty, allowing youth organization leaders to develop a base of supporters, and influence government policy.
Panafrikanismus und Antikolonialismus in der Kommunistischen Internationale, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, March 2019 [Link]
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung (Translator: Sebastian Landsberger), 2019
Nachdem wir anlässlich des 100. Jahrestages der Gründung der Kommunistischen Internationale (Komi... more Nachdem wir anlässlich des 100. Jahrestages der Gründung der Kommunistischen Internationale (Komintern) Anfang März 2019 bereits Beiträge von Jörn Schütrumpf und Lutz Brangsch veröffentlicht haben, wird das Historische Zentrum der Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung in den kommenden Wochen in unregelmäßiger Folge Texte veröffentlichen, die sich einem viel zu wenig untersuchten Aspekt der Komintern widmen: nämlich dem Wirken der Internationale im globalen Süden und insbesondere dem Aspekt des Antikolonialismus. Im hier veröffentlichten ersten Teil der Reihe untersucht Matt Swagler den Einfluss der Komintern auf den Antikolonialismus in Afrika und darüber hinaus.
In August 1963, a popular uprising in Congo-Brazzaville—the first post-independence revolution in... more In August 1963, a popular uprising in Congo-Brazzaville—the first post-independence revolution in Africa—toppled the government of Fulbert Youlou. In the five years that followed, autonomous youth organizations became the most powerful political and military force in Congo. This article provides two explanations for the rise of these youth organizations. First, we show how a small group of radical students moved quickly to define the “youth” as the key actors in an ongoing revolution. They built mass organizations to defend their vision of the revolution, and, in the process, consolidated their links with international Third World and communist organizations. Second, we show that youth leaders guarded their independence in action but used their ability to mobilize young people in urban spaces in order to become officials within the new government and one-party state. We describe this process as one of “autonomous integration,” which lasted until the suppression of autonomous youth organizations after 1968.
Au Congo-Brazzaville, le soulèvement populaire des 13, 14 et 15 août 1963 (qui a été la première révolution en Afrique après l’indépendance) a permis aux organisations de jeu- nesse de devenir la principale force politique du pays jusqu’en 1968. Durant cette période de transition, les jeunes ont su s’unir au sein d’une même organisation, consolider leurs liens avec des organisations internationales progressistes (notamment grâce aux étudiants congolais à l’étranger) et investir la vie locale pour défendre leur idée de la révolution. Mais ce processus d’autonomisation ne s’est pas fait contre le nouveau pouvoir. Plusieurs leaders jeunes ont intégré le parti unique et le gouvernement du président Massamba-Débat s’est appuyé sur le dynamisme des organisations de jeunesse pour consolider son pouvoir. Il s’agira d’analyser ici ce processus « d’autonomisation intégrée », propre au cas congolais.
Did the Russian Revolution Matter for Africa (Part I). Review of African Political Economy blog, August 2017. [Link]
In the first of a two-part article, Matt Swagler looks at the first years after the Russian revol... more In the first of a two-part article, Matt Swagler looks at the first years after the Russian revolution (1917-1935) and discusses the impact of the revolution on African liberation movements before World War II. In the second part he will consider the impact of the Soviet Union on African politics, development and activism in the decades after the war.
Did the Russian Revolution Matter for Africa (Part II). Review of African Political Economy blog, October 2018. [Link]
In the second part of Matt Swagler’s blogpost on the Russian Revolution, he focuses on how Marxis... more In the second part of Matt Swagler’s blogpost on the Russian Revolution, he focuses on how Marxist ideas became central to African political organizing from the late 1940s through the 1970s—a development which took place at the same time that the Soviet Union emerged as a new global superpower. In the first part of Swagler’s article posted on roape.net last year he argued that the 1917 Russian Revolution had important repercussions in Africa, notably in the new connections formed between Black Marxists from the Americas and trade unionists and anti-colonial figures on the African continent. In the second part of the post he looks at how the USSR (and Soviet doctrines of Communism) began to exert profound influence in Africa precisely at the time when the emancipatory potential of the 1917 Russian Revolution had been obliterated by Joseph Stalin’s campaigns of mass state violence. What was left—the Soviet model of coercive, state-led economic development—was nevertheless appealing to many emerging African leaders who organized newly independent states.
Tunisia: “A Dictator Falls, But What Comes Next?” International Socialist Review 76, March-April 2011. [Link]
Review of Heterosexual Africa? The History of an Idea from the Age of Exploration to the Age of AIDS, by Marc Epprecht. International Socialist Review 71, May-June 2010. [Link]
“Senghor’s Statecraft and his Senegalese Critics, 1959-1972.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, November.
After becoming head of state in 1959, Léopold Senghor set about consolidating political authority... more After becoming head of state in 1959, Léopold Senghor set about consolidating political authority in Senegal through the creation of what he called a parti unifié (unified party). Senghor distinguished his model from constitutionally-defined single-party states (parti unique) that emerged in the 1960s elsewhere on the continent. Senghor sought to incorporate his opponents into the new ruling party, the Union Progressiste Sénégalaise (UPS), while recognizing that it would be a coalition, rather than a ruling party with a single vision. But when faced with opposition parties and independent organizations that were unwilling to join the parti unifié, Senghor resorted to repressive measures that exposed the boundaries of what political visions the parti unifié was willing to accommodate. This paper examines Senghor’s parti unifié model by looking at his conflicts with those groups who could not, or would not, integrate themselves into the UPS-run state. It is based on a study of Senghor’s writings about the nature of the party, archival research in France and Senegal, and interviews with former UPS leaders and oppositionists. This study shows that the more Senghor monopolized state politics through the UPS, the greater the inability of the party address popular grievances, and the more vulnerable the state became when faced with social upheaval, particularly from 1966 to 1972.
“Brawls and Bulldozers: Revisiting Life in Dakar in 1968.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November.
Chair, organizer and speaker on roundtable: “Senegal 1968: Perspectives on the Rebellion and Cris... more Chair, organizer and speaker on roundtable: “Senegal 1968: Perspectives on the Rebellion and Crisis Fifty Years Later.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November.
“African Independence with French Diplomas? The 1968 Dakar Student Strike and the Question of Sovereignty,” American Historical Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, January 2018.
In May 1968, students at the University of Dakar launched an indefinite strike of classes and exa... more In May 1968, students at the University of Dakar launched an indefinite strike of classes and exams to protest the government’s proposal to reduce their living stipends. The strike quickly spread to secondary schools, transformed into a widespread urban rebellion, and triggered a general workers’ strike across cities in Senegal. This paper examines the factors that led to the students’ protests and their ability to catalyze a broad social uprising that nearly toppled the regime of president Léopold Senghor. Beyond the issue of stipends, students were motivated by a number of political concerns that they had raised throughout the short existence of the University of Dakar. Created in 1957 as the eighteenth French university, the university continued to function as an essentially French institution after independence in 1960. The 1968 strike was a culmination of previous conflicts that had pitted students against French university administrators and Senghor’s government. Based on archival research and interviews with former Senegalese student organization participants, I argue that student activism was focused on two main issues. First, students increasingly rejected French dominance of administrative and pedagogical posts at the university—a demand which found resonance among secondary students who faced similar conditions. Second, student unions in Dakar demanded the re-introduction of democratic rights eliminated by Senghor’s government, including the freedom for student unions to take “political” positions. Finally, this paper reflects on the transnational nature of the strike—not only the strikers’ relationship to the French protests of May 1968, but also the role of students from other countries in West Africa, who outnumbered the Senegalese students at the university.
“Crossing the Congo River: Attacks, Escapes and Reconciliation Between the Two Congos (1960-1970)” The Center for the United States and the Cold War, New York University, March 2017.
For much of the length of the Congo River, it forms the border between the two nations that share... more For much of the length of the Congo River, it forms the border between the two nations that share its name. The countries’ capital cities, Brazzaville and Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) lay just across the river from each other, the closest capitals of different sovereign states in the world. This paper considers the role the river played in the relations between the peoples and governments of the two Congos during the first decade after the end of colonial rule, when tensions between these newly independent states ran high. I argue that because of the close proximity of the two capitals and the fluid border between them, the boundaries of “national” political conflicts were easily blurred during the 1960s. Oppositionists from both Congos used the protection afforded to them by going into exile across the international boundary along the river. Yet the porousness of the border allowed them to remain in close contact with their supporters. This investigation builds on previous work by Charles Didier Gondola through the use of new archival documents and interviews in France and Brazzaville.
“Neither Communism nor African Socialism: African Youth and the Use of Marxist Texts During the Cold War.” Workshop on Youth and Socialism, University of Zurich, May 2016.
This paper explores how interpretations of Marxism were central to the conflicts that pitted yout... more This paper explores how interpretations of Marxism were central to the conflicts that pitted youth and student organizations against early post-colonial governments in Senegal and Congo-Brazzaville. In the decade following the end of French rule in 1960, young oppositionists in both countries engaged in demonstrations, strikes, and even armed actions that significantly altered the course of national and regional politics. While existing scholarship has portrayed these struggles as expressions of generational tension, I argue that many young people in the 1960s were motivated to take action through their engagement in longstanding debates within the Marxist tradition.
First, I show that the intellectual foundation of youth and student organizations rested on the study of Marxist ideas and their subsequent popularization (and re-interpretation) by young African intellectuals. Second, I argue that youth activists articulated their vision of socialism in contradiction to the “African Socialism” and “Bantu Socialism” adopted by government leaders in Senegal and Congo-Brazzaville, opening up public ideological disputes. Third, I demonstrate that most student and youth organization militants simultaneously rejected identification with Cold War forms of Marxism represented by the Communist Parties of the Third International and states such as the Soviet Union, China, and Cuba. Using publications produced by youth and student leaders alongside interviews with militants from the period, I argue that young oppositionists drew from a wide body of Marxist and anti-imperialist thought which they sought to apply to their local conditions. As they articulated their own interpretations, they loosened rigid Cold War Marxist doctrines, opening up space for new articulations of socialism.
“A Revolution Armed and Disarmed: Autonomous Militias in Congo-Brazzaville 1963-1973.” African Studies Association Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, November 2015.
In 1963, three days of protests in Brazzaville led to the downfall of Congo’s first post-independ... more In 1963, three days of protests in Brazzaville led to the downfall of Congo’s first post-independence government. A group of students and young intellectuals who had participated in the demonstrations feared that supporters of the old regime, the Congolese military, or foreign armies would attempt to overthrow the new government. They set about organizing independent “youth” militias to defend their vision of a “revolution” – one that would cast off lingering elements of colonial rule and bring socialism to central Africa. In this paper, I examine the most important of these armed groups, the Défense civile, which, by 1967, had become larger and better equipped than the Congolese national military. To build the Défense civile, young intellectuals drew upon resources from international Communist and Third World networks outside of control of the new government. I argue that the Défense civile allowed young men and women to enter into political activity in support of the “revolution” while remaining autonomous from the Congolese state. Using Congolese archives and interviews with former participants, I show how the autonomy of young militants created an ongoing political crisis in Congo throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“Decolonization’s Discontents: the African Independence Party (PAI) and the Origins of Post-colonial Opposition in Senegal.” 9th Greater New York Area African Studies Workshop, Princeton University, March 2015.
In this paper, I argue that the Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (PAI) played a crucial role in p... more In this paper, I argue that the Parti Africain de l’Indépendance (PAI) played a crucial role in post-colonial opposition politics in Senegal, despite being outlawed in 1960, after less than three years of existence. The PAI was founded in Senegal in 1957 to advocate for the immediate independence of French colonies in Sub-Saharan Africa. But just ten days after Senegal became an independent state, the government of Mamadou Dia and Léopold Sedar Senghor banned the Senegalese branch of the PAI, and the party was forced underground, until it regained legal status in 1976.
Using archival research and interviews conducted in Senegal and France, I address two main issues in the history of the PAI. First, I show that PAI leaders were integrally connected to trade union and student militants in Senegal in the late 1950s whose vision of independence stemmed from principles of Marxism and Third World solidarity. These organizations challenged Senghor and Dia from the outset, and the government responded with a systematic campaign of repression. Second, I look at how PAI leaders used the connections they had established before being banned to maintain a secret organization in illegality, and train a new circle of student radicals in Dakar. Though the PAI was no longer a public organization, these militants helped form new student organizations at the University of Dakar, and initiated a student strike in 1968 that transformed into an urban rebellion, nearly toppling Senghor’s government. By looking at the history of the PAI during its period of illegality, we can trace the continuity between radical anti-colonial organizations and post-colonial opposition in Senegal.
“Internationalism on the Ground: Expatriates in Congo-Brazzaville after the “Revolution.”’ African Studies Association Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN, November 2014.
During the 1960s and 70s, Congo-Brazzaville became a hub for exiled national liberation fighters,... more During the 1960s and 70s, Congo-Brazzaville became a hub for exiled national liberation fighters, opposition groups from neighboring countries, and representatives from various Communist states. My paper shows that these expatriate activists influenced the sharp political conflicts that arose between Congolese youth organizations and the government in Congo-Brazzaville. After the Congo’s first independent government was toppled by a general strike in 1963, the leaders of Congolese youth and student organizations grew in influence, and they pressured the new “revolutionary” government to host an increasing number of political exiles. By the mid 1960s, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) had made Brazzaville their headquarters, along with political exiles from Cameroon and Congo-Kinshasa, who were engaged in struggles against their national governments. At the same time, Congolese youth organization leaders successfully harnessed Egyptian, Cuban, Chinese, and Soviet military trainers and material support to strengthen their organizations. Using archival research and interviews from Congo and France, I show how mass youth and student organizations developed their local demands through their interaction with exiles, and immersed themselves in debates over Pan-Africanism, Third-World solidarity, and Cold War communism.
“Qui définit « la jeunesse »? Les étudiants et la politique des organisations de jeunesse au Congo-Brazzaville, 1963 à 1968." International colloquium, Mouvements étudiants en Afrique francophone des indépendance à nos jours, Université Paris I, Panthéon-Sorbonne, July 2014.
Résumé : Mon travail consistera à comprendre le rôle des organisations de jeunesse dans la poli... more Résumé :
Mon travail consistera à comprendre le rôle des organisations de jeunesse dans la politique nationale du Congo-Brazzaville entre 1955 et 1968. L'histoire des organisations de jeunesse congolaises brouille la distinction traditionnellement faite entre les organisations de jeunesse et les syndicats d'étudiants en Afrique. Au début de la période postcoloniale, les étudiants à travers l'Afrique ont été souvent à l’origine de mouvements d’opposition vis-à-vis des nouveaux gouvernements, comme à Dakar en 1968. En revanche, la plupart des organisations de jeunesse, comme ceux de la Guinée-Conakry et de la Tanzanie, ont été des extensions disciplinées des partis uniques. Toutefois, au Congo, cette distinction n'a pas été aussi évidente. Les étudiants ont joué un rôle déterminant dans les organisations de jeunesse, et ces dernières ont conservé une forte autonomie sous le régime anti-communiste de Fulbert Youlou (1958-1963), ainsi que pendant la présidence pro-socialiste d’Alphonse Massamba-Débat (1963-1968).
Au Congo, l’enseignement secondaire et supérieur s’est développé très lentement après l'indépendance. Dans ce contexte, les organisations mixtes de « jeunes » – comprenant des étudiants, des lycéens, des étudiants qui avaient abandonné leurs études, des jeunes travailleurs, des jeunes chômeurs, et des nouveaux diplômés – ont eu une plus grande audience que les syndicats étudiants seuls. Dans ces organisations de jeunesse, les étudiants et les jeunes diplômés de tendance marxiste ont tenu des postes de direction, surtout ceux qui ont été formés en France dans l'Association d’étudiants congolais (AEC). Les responsables d'organisations de jeunesse ont élaboré une signification politique de la catégorie de «la jeunesse» qui a servi d’outil pour la mobilisation oppositionnelle de masse, et pour accroitre leurs assise populaire. Pour ces dirigeants, « la jeunesse » était l'avant-garde politique des classes exploitées, qui devrait être formé pour mener un nouveau État fondé sur les principes du marxisme.
Ma communication commencera avec l’histoire de l'Union de la jeunesse congolaise (UJC). Fondé en 1955, l’UJC a joué un rôle clé dans l'organisation de l'opposition au gouvernement de Fulbert Youlou, notamment car elle a appuyé la lutte des syndicalistes radicaux. Quand Youlou a été renversé lors de la Grève Générale de 1963, l'UJC et les leaders étudiants sont sortis victorieux. Ils ont alors créé une nouvelle organisation nationale de la jeunesse - le Conseil national de la jeunesse (CNJ) - qui a été a l’origine de la création d'un parti unique dans le cadre de la poursuite de la révolution socialiste. Les dirigeants du CNJ ont ensuite créé la section "jeunesse" du nouveau parti - la Jeunesse du mouvement national de la révolution (JMNR).
Les responsables de la JMNR se sont efforcés de maintenir leur autonomie vis-à-vis du parti unique au pouvoir, tout en poussant le gouvernement vers des objectifs plus radicaux : la nationalisation des grandes entreprises, la réforme du système éducatif, et le développement d'alliances avec les pays communistes. Parallèlement, les dirigeants de la jeunesse ont organisé des comités de vigilance autonomes pour défendre leur révolution (« quartiers jeunesses »), puis des milices de jeunes (« milices populaires » et la « Défense Civile »). Après l'accession de Marien Ngouabi à la présidence par un coup d'Etat en 1968, les organisations de jeunesse ont été progressivement contraintes de se soumettre aux ordres d’un nouveau parti unique.
Cette communication s'appuie sur des recherches d’archives et des entretiens menés au Congo et en France. La relation entre les syndicats étudiants, les organisations de jeunesse, et l'État congolais est renseigné par les fonds des Archives Nationales du Congo [PR 5, 9, 10, 11, 15, 20, 23, 30, 31, 37, 58, 61 et Série B], et du Centre des Archives Diplomatiques de Nantes (CADN) [Brazzaville Ambassade 7, 8, 21, 24, 35, 32, 51]. Les recherches sur les positions politiques des organisations de jeunesse s’appuient sur les numéros de la revue indépendante congolaise, Dipanda (1963-1968), et sur 30 entretiens enregistrés avec 18 anciens militants de la jeunesse. Les archives du Fond de Jacques Foccart, aux Archives Nationales Françaises, fournissent des informations sur les liens entre les organisations de jeunesse congolais et la Fédération des Étudiants d'Afrique Noire en France (FEANF) dans les années 1960 [FPU 531, 537, 547, 983, FPR 628].
Abstract in English:
Who Defines the “Youth”? Students and the Politics of Youth Organizations in Congo-Brazzaville, 1955-1968.
This paper explores how youth organizations played an increasingly influential role in the national politics of Congo-Brazzaville between 1958 and 1968. During this time, the Congolese Youth Union (UJC) and the Youth of the National Revolutionary Movement (JMNR) attracted thousands of members. These groups openly challenged the policies of both the anti-Communist regime of Fulbert Youlou (1958-1963), and the socialist government of Alphonse Massamba-Débat (1963-1968). Based on archival research and interviews conducted in Congo and France, I will raise three points about their history: First, Congolese youth organizations blurred the distinction between student and youth movements. In the Congo, secondary and higher education expanded very slowly after independence. In this context, mixed “youth” organizations, comprised of students, school-leavers, young workers, unemployed youth, and recent graduates, captured a larger audience than student unions alone. Second, Marxist-oriented students and recent graduates, especially those trained through contact with the international Communist movement, led these organizations. They saw their local activity as part of a global struggle against neo-colonialism and capitalism. Third, youth organization leaders used their intellectual authority to promote “the youth” as the political vanguard of the exploited, who needed to be trained to lead a new state founded on the principles of “scientific socialism.” This definition served as a tool for the mass mobilization of thousands of Congolese under the age of thirty, allowing youth organization leaders to develop a base of supporters, and influence government policy.