Eurafrica - (Theory for a Global Age) by Peo Hansen & Stefan Jonsson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In order to think theoretically about our global age it is important to understand how the global has been conceived historically. 'Eurafrica' was an intellectual endeavor and political project that from the 1920s saw Europe's future survival - its continued role in history - as completely bound up with Europe's successful merger with Africa. In its time the concept of Eurafrica was tremendously influential in the process of European integration.

Today the project is largely forgotten, yet the idea continues to influence EU policy towards its African 'partner'. The book will recover a critical conception of the nexus between Europe and Africa - a relationship of significance across the humanities and social sciences. In assessing this historical concept the authors shed light on the process of European integration, African decolonization and the current conflictual relationship between Europe and Africa.

Review Quotes

"A roseate glimmer of postwar peace attaches to 'Europe' - the fake continent and the organization of states that is said metonymically to stand for it. Hansen and Jonsson uncover something altogether different in the formation of the European project, something either unknown or papered over in embarrassed silence: Eurafrica. The colonial ideology, morphing into the neo-colonial here, is nothing less than astonishing." --Anders Stephanson, Andrew and Virginia Rudd Family Foundation Professor of History, Columbia University, USA

"[...] the work Eurafrica offers a very valuable contribution to the thorough knowledge and full understanding of the bond existing between decolonization and europeanisation processes. Based on a wide range of sources, it provides a general overview of the origins, motivations, forms and means of EC cooperation policies and illuminates the denseness of themes, controversies and approaches covered in research. In this way it advances knowledge about the debate on the "centrality of colonial legacy in early blueprints for European Integration" and provides a good fact finding of the state of the research in the field." --Jean-Marie Palayret, former Director of the Historical Archives of the European Union, European University Institute, Florence

About the Author

Peo Hansen is Professor in the Institute for Research in Migration, Ethnicity and Society (REMESO), Linköping University, Sweden.

Stefan Jonsson is Professor of Ethnic Studies at Linköping University, Sweden.