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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Gabon: A Neo-Colonial Enclave of Enduring French Interest |
Author: | Reed, Michael C. |
Year: | 1987 |
Periodical: | Journal of Modern African Studies |
Volume: | 25 |
Issue: | 2 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 283-320 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Gabon France |
Subjects: | political conditions foreign policy 1900-1999 Politics and Government international relations Economics and Trade |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/161015 |
Abstract: | Since Gabon's independence in 1960, the French control of the colonial era has been replaced by an insidious rapprochement with Paris, fashioned by Gabon's leadership. This article places President Bongo within the sequence of 20th-century Gabonese politics which, on the whole, have been influenced by personal, regional, and ethnic interests rather than by issues or ideologies. After a review of the origin of political activities in Gabon, the years of open, competitive politics (1944-1960), the French intervention after the coup d'état of 1964 and the birth of neocolonialism, the article discusses Bongo's politico-economic views, Gabon's relations with other African States, Gabon's relations with France, and the recurrence of xenophobia as a result of Gabon's economic austerity during the years 1984-1987. The article concludes that it is highly unlikely that the intricate ties which have bound the Gabonese State and France for more than 25 years, will be broken in the near future. Notes, ref. |