Politics of Decolonization: Kenya Europeans and the Land Issue 1960-1965

Abstract

Decolonization in the Third World has most often been approached by tracing the ties of nationalist movements to the attainment of independence. This book attempts to revise the perspective. It presents a model of decolonization centring on the idea that the process was shaped by the reaction of colonial interests to the ascendancy of a nationalist elite. Rather than tracing the upward development of a nationalist movement, it traces the downward manipulation of that movement into a colonial system. The study concludes that instead of being a separating step to remove colonial influence, decolonization in more important respects ensured the continuity of the colonial political economy. The book is of interest to scholars, students and others interested in decolonization, white settles, East African affairs and land reform, as well as the general reader following current events in Africa.