What is it about?
Pan-Africanism as a force against colonialism; a means of exercising African Agency in the continent's relationship with the colonialists. The article puts special emphasis on the colonial empire as a great power and Africa as a small power in the tussle of what was known as the “gunboat diplomacy.” What were the approaches; who were the actors; what were the grand geopolitical strategies employed in exerting influence in the complex relationship between the colonies and the colonialists? Relying on archival records (online), interviews, speeches, and other publications, sifted through the functionalism and neo-functionalism theories, the article contends that the Pan-African thinkers and advocates were significant actors in the fight against European dominance in Africa and provided a gateway for the final nationalist movement and liberation of the continent.
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Why is it important?
It add to and debunks the argument in international relations that Africans hardly exercise agency or influence, in particular Sino-Africa relations, as well as other great powers
Perspectives
African forces/actors have had agency in their engagements with other players across the globe even before the colonial era.
ISAAC NUNOO
University of Cape Coast
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Assessing Agency in Colonial Africa: Pan-Africanism as African Agency, The African Review, July 2022, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/1821889x-bja10015.
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