A Eurafrican Future: France, Algeria, and the Treaty of Rome (1951-1975)
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City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 6-2017 A Eurafrican Future: France, Algeria, and the Treaty of Rome (1951-1975) Megan Brown The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2076 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] A Eurafrican Future: France, Algeria, and the Treaty of Rome (1951-1975) by MEGAN BROWN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2017 ©2017 MEGAN BROWN All Rights Reserved Brown • A Eurafrican Future ii A Eurafrican Future: France, Algeria, and the Treaty of Rome (1951-1975) by Megan Brown This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Professor David G. Troyansky _______________________ __________________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Professor Andrew Robertson _______________________ _________________________________________ Date Acting Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Professor Frederick Cooper Professor Clifford Rosenberg Professor Todd Shepard Professor Gary Wilder THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK Brown • A Eurafrican Future iii Abstract A Eurafrican Future: France, Algeria, and the Treaty of Rome (1951-1975) by Megan Brown Advisor: David G. Troyansky Before the Treaty of Rome (1957) established the European Economic Community (EEC), French officials made it clear that France’s signature on the Treaty was contingent on its partners’ acceptance of Eurafrican policy. Because Algeria held a unique legal status among France’s overseas holdings, the way in which French officials advocated its insertion within EEC regulation merits particular attention. This status stood distinct from that of the associated territories and, when applied to the Treaty, would theoretically extend to Algeria and its residents the guarantees of free labor circulation, development aid, and tariff preferences open to metropolitan citizens through EEC membership. Because French officials hoped to preserve trade relations and sought to quell crises across the empire, they negotiated EEC regulations in a bid to retain control through the continuity of economic and political ties. Eager for France to join the EEC, the other states agreed. Thus, a supranational treaty became a tool with which France could attempt to maintain control over its empire. This moment in colonial and European relations demonstrates how citizenship rights and multilateral diplomacy were influenced by economic as well as political pressures. It reveals that Europe’s current borders are strikingly less expansive than those envisioned by France and its partners in the early years of European integration. Brown • A Eurafrican Future iv In the very beginning lies chaos, but a chaos rich in life; it is the fertile primeval slime, where a being is coming into existence, still monstrous, but endowed with a principle of unity, and strong enough to dispel impossibilities, to acquire the essential organs. -Ernest Renan, L’Histoire des origines du christianisme.1 It is thought that even states can marry one another, in part as a new kind of industry by which one can effortlessly increase one’s power through familial alliances, and in part as a means to expand one’s land possessions. -Immanuel Kant, “Toward Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch,” 1795.2 1 Cited in J. Ayo Langley, “Pan-Africanism in Paris, 1924-1936,” The Journal of Modern African Studies 7, 1 (April 1969): 72. 2 Immanuel Kant, Toward Perpetual Peace and Other Writings on Politics, Peace, and History, ed. Pauline Kleingeld, trans. David L. Colclasure (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 68. Brown • A Eurafrican Future v Acknowledgements If writing a dissertation sometimes feels like a solitary process, I need only think of how much support I have received over the past seven years and I am reminded that I did not go it alone. I would challenge anyone to find a dissertation committee more supportive than mine. David Troyansky offered humor, calm, and advice. His insight sustained this long project. Clifford Rosenberg knew that each next draft would be a better one and always had time to talk about improvements. Gary Wilder pushed me to see the big picture in my work. They recognized before I did that my project was going to veer from my initial plan. I am also grateful to Frederick Cooper and Todd Shepard, both of whom shared important ideas and constructive critiques. Many professors helped to shape this work. They include Evelyn Ackerman, Herman Bennett, Françoise Blum, James Cullen, Chris Ebert, Dagmar Herzog, Benjamin Hett, Julian Jackson, Christoph Kimmich, Simon Kitson, Lauren Mancia, Andy Meyer, Karis Muller, Angela Ray, Helena Rosenblatt, Julia Sneeringer, Judith Stein, and John Torpey. Sylvie Thénault served as my local advisor during my Fulbright year and offered helpful ideas and support. I am also grateful to my students, particularly at Brooklyn College, whose enthusiasm in the classroom reminded me of why I chose this career. Many people and organizations facilitated my research. At the Graduate Center, this includes Marilyn Weber, Huber D. Jaramillo Gil, Rachel Sponzo, and Anne Ellis. Through the GC, I received the Advanced Research Collaborative Award for Archival Research in African American and African Diaspora Studies. I am grateful to the Camargo Foundation, and its director, Julie Chénot, and administrator, Cécile Descloux. I thank the Fulbright Scholar Program and the Franco-American Commission, including Brown • A Eurafrican Future vi Arnaud Roujou de Boubée and Charlotte Goodwin. The Council for European Studies at Columbia University supported my earliest research through its pre-dissertation grant and my final writing stage through its Mellon-CES Dissertation Completion Fellowship. I am so grateful to the program and its staff, past and present. Conference and workshop audiences have offered important critiques. Emmanuel Blanchard, Jim House, and Sylvie Thénault invited me to present at the Pour une histoire sociale de l'Algérie colonisée seminar, where I gathered feedback at an early writing stage. Kelsey Suggitt’s invitation to the Re-Imagining Ends of Empire Study Day at the University of Portsmouth led to new lines of inquiry. At the MMSH, Didier Guignard of IREMAM invited me to present my ideas while I was still immersed in the archives. Without indulgent archivists and helpful librarians, I would not have much to write about. I am grateful to the staff at the Archives Nationales, Archives du Monde du Travail, Bibliothèque de Documentation Internationale Contemporaine, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Centre des Archives Economiques et Financières, Centre des Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer, Centre de Documentation Historique sur l’Algérie, Historical Archives of the European Union, Centre des Archives Diplomatiques du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Maison Méditerranéenne de la Science de l’Homme, and Archives d’Histoire Contemporaine (Sciences Po), as well as to the staff of the departmental and municipal archives that I visited while shaping my research topic. In particular, Olivier Dubois at the MMSH library helped me to locate periodicals I did not know existed, Vivien Richard at the Archives Nationales allowed me to consult uncatalogued archives in his office, and Anne-Lise Ducoroy at the ANMT fought for my right to see documents. More tireless than anyone else, however, was the staff of the Grad Brown • A Eurafrican Future vii Center’s Interlibrary Loan department. I am grateful for their patience. What I really have to show for these past seven years are the friendships I’ve made. Kyle Francis and Scott Johnson offered mentorship, sharp edits, and perspective. Chelsea Schields has been an ally and a confidant. I would not have made it through coursework without Andrew Shield. At the Graduate Center, Neil Agarwal, Pete Aigner, Davide Colasanto, Mark Drury, Chris Ewing, Zan Goldblatt Clark, Miriam Liebman, Chris Rominger, Lauren Saxton, Scott Schwartz, Katie Uva, and Katrina Wheeler provided support and friendship. Kellan Anfinson, Sam Daly, Muriam Haleh Davis, Benedikt Erforth, Liz Fink, Burleigh Hendrickson, Rachel Kantrowitz, Ian Merkel, and Jessica Pearson offered invaluable edits and advice. My Fulbright year, I had the luck of meeting Thea Goldring and Miranda Sachs, two scholars who have made all the difference. My dissertation was also shaped by the people who allowed me to escape it momentarily. In France, that includes the Bourlier family, without whom I would speak no French, Nathalie Toulouse and her family, Tara Bushe, Amelia de Chabert, Ida Falinower, Hélène Cavarelli, Simon Gensowski, and Unity Payton. In America, that includes Andi Bartz (for her friendship and her editing), Cristina Couloucoundis, Maggie Hunter, Corrie Leech, Natasha Palewicz, and Jinny VanZanten. Sam Brown, Sarah McLellan, and Huck McBrown provide the best study breaks a person could dream of. Most of all, I thank my parents, Vicki and Elliot Brown. My work has at points felt foreign to them, and not only because of my