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1/13 THREAD. We often fail to see how the European project (the EU and its previous incarnations) has been deeply entangled with colonialism, and how it still influences our everyday. Hence this thread about the idea of 'Eurafrica'.
*caveat: this is based on the hard work of other scholars - readings at the end of the thread*
2/13 European integration was from the get-go deeply implicated in colonialism. As evidenced by the following excerpt of the Schuman declaration (1950)
3/13 The idea at the time was that European solidarity could be created by developing the colonies together
4/13 This ispart and parcel of what is called the ideology of Eurafrica. Here is how Guy Martin, then a scholar at the University of Yaounde, Cameroon defined it in 1982
5/13 Both the Eurafrican idea and the European project have their roots in the interbellum pan-European movement, led by Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi who wrote this pamphlet:
6/13 One of the movement's core ideas is that Europe could only reach its fullest potential by exploiting Africa
7/13 The image of Africa at the time was one of an empty & ‘dark’ continent, that could provide ‘Lebensraum’ for an overpopulated Europe, see for example this pic from a book by architect Hermann Sörgel on his utopian Atlantropa project
side-note: the Atlantropa project would deserve a thread all of its own. Ricarda Vidal has written about it here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326468312_Atlantropa_-_One_of_the_Missed_Opportunities_of_the_Future
8/13 Africa was seen as a reservoir for hydro-electric power, for natural resources & produce. It’s population was deemed inferior
9/13 After WWII this vision remained, although it was less utopian and the notion of lebensraum was no longer used for obvious reasons.
10/13 At the time of the Schuman declaration in 1950, many African countries were still colonies of the Member States. This is a map of the European Community of Coal and Steel that includes Algeria (most maps don't show colonies)
11/13 The European project was also meant to turn the tide of the process of decolonization that started in Asia and to preserve colonialism
12/13 The Eurafrican idea is still alive and it shapes a lot of the thinking about EU-African relations
13/13 If you want to know more: Eurafrica by Peo Hansen and Stefan Jonsson (open access!), Guy Martin's work & @Gurminder & Lucy Mayblin’s for how this legacy shapes European ideas about citizenship and belonging https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/eurafrica-the-untold-history-of-european-integration-and-colonialism/
