France In Centrafrique

This military history of French Equatorial Africa examines the key players and operations from WWII to post-colonial conflicts. France in Centrafrique explores the history of French Equatorial Africa with a particular emphasis on the role of the Central African Republic in the Second World War and the Free French Movement. One of the key figures to emerge from this period was Jean-Bédel Bokassa, a man who would shape the destiny of the Central African Republic. Bokassa served alongside the Free French under General Charles de Gaulle and later in the metropolitan French military as an NCO in Indo-China. Historian Peter Baxter traces Bokassa’s ascent from these humble beginnings to his position as one of the region’s most notorious dictators. Bokassa’s excessive violence and personal aggrandizement are covered, as well as the role France played in his rise and fall—especially through Jacques Foccart’s wide-reaching intelligence network. Baxter examines France’s evolving relationship with her erstwhile African colonial possessions, illuminating the underlying cause and effect of the many French interventions. He underscores the roles played by various individual personalities, both French and African. The book traces the overt and covert French military actions in the region, including Operation Barracuda, Operations Almandin I, II and III, Operation Boali and the various regional, international and European regional interventions.

This book examines radical Jihad terrorism in contemporary France and sheds light on the vicious circle of violence, based on reciprocity. Building upon the theoretical heritage of Pierre Bourdieu, the book develops a methodology and a concept of the vicious circle of violence in France, based on three pillars: actors, dynamics, and effects. Discussing the development of global terrorism between the 9/11 attacks and the launch of the European front against global terror in Spain and Great Britain, the book goes on to analyze why France has not been attacked during the 2000s and why it, in turn, became a primary target of terrorist attacks during the 2010s, with a special emphasis on communication theory and the concept of reciprocity. Studying these attacks on the international level, the book offers insights into violent acts of revenge of the radical home-grown jihadists for the French military interventions in four Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries, especially Libya and Syria. It further investigates the following growing radicalization of the Muslim community on the national level as a reason for terrorist attacks. Finally, the book sheds light on the reactions from within the French military to these developments, before closing with a presentation of the new political context after the 2022 presidential and legislative elections. Based on empirical evidence and a theoretical background this book will appeal to students and scholars of political science and international relations, as well as policy-makers and practitioners interested in a better understanding of terrorism, French politics, and communication theory.

Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic, Third Edition, fills the gap in the literature about a country for which very little information exists in English, covering events that have taken place since the publication of the last edition in 1992. Substantial new material covers the persons, events, institutions, and parties that have played a significant role in the history of the Central African Republic. A list of acronyms and abbreviations, an extensive chronology, and an introductory essay complement the more than 800 dictionary entries. The bibliography profiles the available literature, and provides numerous journal articles and websites as sources of current events and developments.

Despite efforts to normalize its post-colonial relationship and the downsizing of its permanent military presence, France remains a sought-after security provider in Africa. This book uncovers individual and collective motivations that drive French foreign and security policy in Africa. It explains French interventionism by drawing on actors’ subjective perceptions of reality and seeks to answer why French decision-makers are ready to accept the considerable risks and costs involved in guaranteeing the security of African countries. Adopting an actor-centric constructivist ontology, the author traces the emergence and subsequent development of ideas throughout the decision-making processes that led to Operation Serval in Mali and Operation Sangaris in the Central African Republic.

Immigrant incorporation is a critical challenge for France and other European societies today. Black Africans migrants are racialized and endowed with an immigrant status, which carries low status and is durable into the second generation. This book elucidates the conflict and issues pertinent to social integration.

Examines twenty years of French military interventions in Chad and Hissène Habré's rise to power between 1960 and 1982.

Has Vladimir Putin become the master of the game? Why and how did the Russian President decide to attack Ukraine? Did he seek to prevent Ukraine from associating with Europe? Does he seek to reconstitute the USSR? Did NATO promise not to expand east after 1990? Is the Nord Stream 2 project the sinews of war? Is Ukraine's neutrality the only solution? Has Russia ever lost or won the war?... Based on the files of the intelligence services and official reports, Jacques Baud thus reviews the events of the recent history of Russia, which led to the war with Ukraine; it analyzes the various disputes between the West and Russia, and sheds light on the role that Putin plays today on the international scene. Colonial Jacques Baud is a former member of the Swiss Strategic Intelligence, a specialist in Eastern Europe and former head of Doctrine of the United Nations Peace Operations. Within NATO, he was involved in programs in Ukraine, including after the Maidan Revolution of 2014 and 2017. He is the author of several books on intelligence, war and terrorism, including Putin, Game master?, Governing by Fake News and The Navalny Affair, all published by Max Milo.

The Central African Republic (CAR) came into existence on 1 December 1958 as a semi-autonomous member state of the Communauté (French Community), meaning that France still controlled its currency, defense, foreign affairs and national security. The history of the CAR can be interpreted in radically different ways. One the one hand the people of Central Africa have suffered enormously at the hands of slave traders, concessionary companies, French colonialists and African rulers, and their country remains largely ‘undeveloped.’ On the other most Central Africans have retained free use of land on which they grow crops and from which they extract numerous valuable resources. Their way of life is in the long run perhaps more sustainable than those of the ‘experts’ who come to assist them. The theme of essential continuity in the history of the CAR is as important, if not more important in the long run, than the themes of violent change, exploitation, and enduring dependence. Deep roots of continuity provide a surprising stability in the face of dramatic and often very painful change on the surface. The Historical Dictionary of the Central African Republic contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 1200 cross-referenced entries on important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations, religion, and culture. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Central African Republic.