Klaas Van Walraven
(African Studies Centre)
Marieke van Winden (conference organiser)
(African Studies Centre Leiden)
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Format:
Book launches
Location:
KH117
Start time:
30 June, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/Zurich
Session slots:
1
Klaas van Walraven: Le désir de calme. L’histoire du mouvement Sawaba au Niger, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, Rennes 2017..
Panel BL12 at conference ECAS7: 7th European Conference on African Studies.
In Le Désir de calme Klaas van Walraven traces the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger and its rebellion against the French-protected regime during the 1960s. The book analyses its guerrilla campaign and failure, followed by the movement’s destruction.
Long Abstract:
Le Désir de calme is the French translation of a book that deals with a totally neglected subject, i.e. the Sawaba movement and its rebellion in Niger. Klaas van Walraven traces this story from a social history perspective, placing back an entire generation of activists, removed from the official record, into mainstream Nigérien history. Representing a genuine social movement, Sawaba formed Niger’s first autonomous government under French suzerainty. Overthrown by the Gaullists and persecuted, it attempted a comeback with a guerrilla campaign (1960-1966), which failed, leading to its destruction. Le Désir de calme – based on numerous interviews with survivors and a vast range of archival sources, including France’s secret service – is essential reading for the re-evaluation of Niger’s history and the role of militant nationalist movements in the decolonisation of French West Africa.