The rise and fall of associationism: The Yaoundé and Lomé conventions

Abstract

The immediate post-colonial period offered opportunities as well as formidable challenges for former colonies of European powers. While colonial mentalities still pervaded in many European capitals and paternalism remained pervasive throughout the political diplomacy of the period, other perspectives were emerging. Through innovative policy engagements that occurred in the late 1950s and into the 1960s, a new sense of transnational purpose could be seen which presented former colonies with partnership options that were seemingly and practically outside the context of the historic geo-economic imposition. Whereas some European powers continued to exert overly dismissive attitudes to African engagement and society, other approaches experimented with developmental policies that were lauded by both sides at the time. This article will look at the practice and policies of associationism - the outworking of the Yaounde and Lome agreements - and will look at the formative international cooperation policies of the European Community (EC), as it evolved through the period when former European colonies were attaining independence. Finally, it will survey the reasons for the demise of associationism and speculate on the onset of what some have described as "neo-colonalism" (Langan, 2018: 1-32; Nkrumah, 1965).