From rivalry to partnership? Critical reflections on Anglo-French cooperation in Africa

Abstract

At the December 1998 Saint-Malo summit, Britain and France promised to set aside past rivalries and work together on African issues. While brief indications were given as to possible areas of bilateral and ‘bi-multi’ cooperation, the terms and scope of this ‘partnership’ were not spelt out. Was this to involve only sporadic collaboration? Or was it to be an institutionalised partnership, such as the Franco-German tandem, or perhaps a more intuitive alliance, such as the Anglo-American ‘special relationship’? These questions are central to this article, which begins by showing how Anglo-French relations in Africa were largely marked by rivalry from the colonial era to the early post-Cold War period. Drawing upon extensive interviews, it demonstrates how, over the last decade or so, closer linkages have developed between the UK and French administrations and how there has been a greater degree of cooperation in response to the key challenges of Africa. It then uses a neo-classical realist framework to explain the readiness or reluctance of Britain and France to collaborate on Africa. It concludes by suggesting that, while there has been progress in ‘deconflictualising’ African policies, cooperation has been, and is likely to remain, limited.

Foreign aid, legal origin, economic growth and Africa’s least developed countries

“…France consistently ranked below UK on the four indices of quality of aid, indicating that relatively, UK provides pro-growth foreign aid. Furthermore, French aid has focused on military and cultural cooperation with their former colonies in Africa, while British assistance has been more oriented toward economic develop-ment and liberalization (Cumming and Chafer, 2011; Pacquement, 2010). As expected, bilateral aid from France and UK, have growth-retarding and -enhancing effects respectively.…”

Growth Impact of Aid Quantity and Quality in Africa

“…In fact, the literature indicates that French bilateral aid tend to be geostrategic in nature relative to UK aid. For instance, French aid has focused on military and cultural cooperation with their former colonies in Africa, while British assistance has targeted economic development and liberalization instead (Cumming and Chafer 2011;Pacquement 2010). In addition, bilateral aid from the UK consistently ranks higher than from France in terms of quality (Birdsall et al 2010;Knack et al 2011).…”