The International Possibilities of Insurgency and Statehood in Africa: the U.P.C
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The International Possibilities of Insurgency and Statehood in Africa: The U.P.C. and Cameroon, 1948-1971. A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2013 Thomas Sharp School of Arts, Languages and Cultures 2 Table of Contents LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................... 3 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................... 5 DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... 6 COPYRIGHT STATEMENT .................................................................................................. 7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 9 The U.P.C.: Historical Context and Historiography ......................................................... 13 A Fundamental Function of African Statehood ................................................................. 24 Methodology and Sources: A Transnational Approach ..................................................... 32 Structure of the Thesis ....................................................................................................... 37 CHAPTER ONE: METROPOLITAN CONSTRAINTS AND EXTRA- METROPOLITAN OPPORTUNITIES, 1922-1953............................................................. 42 Cameroon’s Experience of French Rule, 1922-1945 ......................................................... 45 Possibilities and Constraints of the Post-war Period ........................................................ 51 The Emergence of the U.P.C. ............................................................................................. 56 The Extra-Metropolitan Opportunities of Trusteeship ...................................................... 63 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 74 CHAPTER TWO: AN INTERNATIONAL INSURGENCY, 1954-1959 .......................... 76 The Proscription of the U.P.C. .......................................................................................... 78 The Loi-Cadre and Domestic Attempts at Legalisation ..................................................... 91 A U.N.-Inspired Insurgency ............................................................................................... 96 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 117 CHAPTER THREE: DOMESTIC CONSTRAINTS AND INTERNATIONAL POSSIBILITIES: THE EMERGENCE OF AFRICAN STATEHOOD, 1960-1962 ....... 118 The Ahidjo Government in 1960: A Quasi-State? ........................................................... 121 The U.P.C. in 1960: A Parallel State? ............................................................................. 132 Inequalities of Statehood, 1960-1962 .............................................................................. 142 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 153 CHAPTER FOUR: THE FINAL BATTLE: NATION-BUILDING AND INSURGENT DIPLOMACY, 1962-1971 ..................................................................................................... 156 State Consolidation Under Ahidjo, 1962-1963 ................................................................ 158 An Alternative Gatekeeper: The U.P.C., 1962-1964 ....................................................... 167 Coups, Borders, and Non-Intervention: The Contingency and Collapse of Insurgent Diplomacy, 1964-1971. .................................................................................................... 179 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 187 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................... 191 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................. 200 Word Count: 79, 862. 3 List of Abbreviations A.A.P.C. – All African People’s Conference A.A.S.O – Afro-Asian Solidarity Organisation A.E.C. - Association des Étudiants Camerounais A.E.F. - Afrique Équatoriale Française A.L.N.K. - Armée de Libération Nationale du Kamerun ARCAM - Assemblée Représentative du Cameroun ATCAM - Assemblée Territoriale du Cameroun B.M.M. - Brigade Mixte Mobile B.C.D. - Bureau du Comité Directeur B.D.C. - Bloc Démocratique Camerounais B.E.D.O.C. - Bureau d’Études et de Documentation C.F.L.N. - Comité Français de Libération Nationale C.G.T. - Confédération Générale du Travail C.M.U.N. - Courant Mouvement d’Union Nationale C.N.O. - Comité National d’Organisation C.U.T. - Comité de l'Unité Togolaise F.E.A.N.F. - Fédération des Étudiants de l’Afrique Noire en France F.I.D.E.S. - Fonds d’Investissement pour le Développement Économique et Social F.L.N. - Front de Libération Nationale (Algeria) G.P.R.A - Gouvernement Provisoire de la République Algérienne I.L.R.M. - International League of the Rights of Man J.D.C. - Jeunesse Démocratique du Cameroun K.N.D.P. – Kamerun National Democratic Party K.U.N.C. - Kamerun United National Congress M.P.L.A. - People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola M.R.P. - Mouvement Républicain Populaire 4 O.A.U. - Organisation of African Unity O.C.A.M. - Organisation Commune Africaine et Malagache O.K. – One Kamerun P.C.F. - Parti Communiste Français P.M.C. – Permanent Mandates Commission R.C. – Revolutionary Committee R.D.A. - Rassemblement Démocratique Africain R.P.F. - Rassemblement du Peuple Français S.A. - Secrétariat Administratif S.D.E.C.E. - Service de Documentation Extérieure et de Contre-Espionnage S.D.N. - Sinistre de la Défense Nationale S.D.N.K. - Sinistre de la Défense Nationale Kamerunaise S.E.D.O.C. - Service d’Études et de Documentation S.F.I.O. - Section Française de l'Internationale Ouvrière U.A.R – United Arab Republic U.C. - Union Camerounaise U.D.F.C. - Union Démocratique des Femmes Camerounaises U.D.H.R. – Universal Declaration of Human Rights U.N. - United Nations U.N.E.K. - Union Nationale des Étudiants Kamerunais U.N.E.S.C.O – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation U.S.C.C. - Union des Syndicats Confédérés du Cameroun U.P.C. – Union des Populations du Cameroun 5 Abstract Amongst Western political scientists and policy-makers, a perceived economic and political ‘crisis’ of the African state since the 1980s has produced a terminology of ‘weak states’, ‘quasi-states’ and ‘failed states’. Such terminology, however, represents a narrow and pathological understanding of the African state, one that has reduced its post- independence trajectory to a series of deviations from an ideal-typical – and largely Eurocentric – model of statehood. The normative standards of this ‘strong’ and ‘successful’ ideal of statehood have, predominantly, been defined by a government’s ability to exercise complete domestic authority, and to provide for the full welfare and development of its population. Within this paradigm, armed conflict, and a government’s reliance on foreign aid, are both seen to represent a country’s ‘lack’ of statehood. The application of these universal standards to Africa has tended to ignore the distinct historical context from which independent African states emerged. Using the example of French Cameroon, this thesis firstly establishes such a historical context, one that was significantly shaped by the limiting and shallow development efforts of colonial administrations. Importantly, however, this context was also constituted by new opportunities for international support that emerged during the post-war period, represented by the newly formed U.N., an increasing number of independent (and former colonial) states, as well as former colonial powers. It is a context that necessitates a more specific set of standards to analyse the exercise of statehood in Africa. The thesis consequently identifies one such standard – or function – of statehood: the ability to control access to external resources, through a claim to represent an internationally recognised state. It is a function in which recourse to external aid, and even armed conflict, become understandable as rational strategies that reinforce statehood in an African context, rather than negate it. The original contribution of the thesis, however, proceeds from identifying this function in a group that was excluded from the institutions, and even territory, of the Cameroonian state. That group was the Union des Populations du Cameroun (U.P.C.); a nationalist party that waged a guerrilla insurgency against Cameroon’s colonial and independent governments, and whose leadership predominantly remained in exile. By locating the U.P.C.’s history within this logic of African statehood, the thesis offers an alternative reading of the party’s campaign, and a means of understanding the relationship between its armed and diplomatic struggles. By examining how the U.P.C. competed with Cameroon’s government to successfully perform a fundamental function of African statehood, the thesis