“The Question of Algeria”: Decolonization and International Society circa 1960

Sadia Saeed, University of San Francisco

This paper deploys “The Question of Algeria” at the United Nations to inquire into the relationship between decolonization and international society. For seven years between 1955 and 1961, Asian and African states fought tooth and nail at the United Nations General Assembly to put pressure on France to decolonize Algeria. During this time, a significant number of French colonies gained independence: Morocco and Tunisia in 1956, Guinea in 1958, and fourteen colonies from sub-Saharan Africa in 1960. Furthermore, in 1960, the General Assembly adopted the critical Resolution 1514 titled Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Yet France fought desperately to hold on to Algeria, its prize colony, until the very end. In this paper, I address the following questions: What was the role of international norms in the decolonization of Algeria? How were these interpreted and contested at the United Nations? The paper begins by addressing how existing literatures, specifically world polity theory, constructivist approaches in International Relations, and scholars of empire, have theorized the role of anticolonial movements in decolonization processes. I argue that none of these approaches has fully theorized the institutional and discursive processes through which actors from the Global South mainstreamed the norm of decolonization. On the discursive front, I draw attention to how delegates from Asian and African countries drew on ideas about “human rights” and “development” to expose the brutal nature of French colonialism. On the institutional front, these representatives sought to convince fellow states to vote for General Assembly resolutions condemning France. Ultimately, Algeria won its independence through internationalizing its war and winning support of key states in the emerging Third World. These states then fought for Algeria at the United Nations while Algerians sacrificed their lives on the ground.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 247. Empire and World Order