This doctoral thesis starts with a general introduction and will end with a general conclusion, which summarizes the main output of the entire work. Each chapter will begin with a special introduction and finish with a partial conclusion. The study set off a description of the historical background of Germany's colonial policy in Africa and the circumstances which surrounded its conquest and exit. Furthermore the question of multiple collective memories will be raised up from the interwar to the post war period. In a next step the strategic goals of West and East Germany's Africa policies since 1949 will be analyzed especially with regard to their interests. The EC-ACP relationship became much more relevant starting up with 1960. This process already exist until today. Taken together, in 2016 the 28 EU member states and 79 ACP countries constitute more than fifty percent of the 193 UN members states1. In the last part, this work demonstrates the German contribution to development policies in general and how mechanism worked within the framework of the association policies pursued by Germany with the so called ACP countries.
Germany began its colonial expansion in the 1880s under Bismack's leadership, encouraged not only by bourgeoisie but also by gentry. Germany occupies a place in Africa's historical contemporary experiences. It was in Berlin in 1884/85 when the European great powers met in order to split up Africa into a patchwork of colonial possessions which later became states in theory. It was called the “Scramble” for Africa. The Conference also marked the dawn of one of the most brutalising and humiliating experiences endured by Africans: colonization. And although Germany was only a “minor” player at the Berlin Conference, the meeting had profound impact on the African governance, economics, culture politics and psyche. There is a lot of merit in the argument that Africa's position in the global economy, its place among other continents, its role in world politics and international relations in general, are related to the decisions in 1884/85. In short, it is not possible for Africa and Africans to say “good-bye to Berlin” because its legacies-tangible and intangible-continue to stare us in the face both within and outside Africa. In the Cold War period (1945-1989), the “German Question”, that is, the division of Germany into communist east and capitalist west, also had an impact directly and indirectly on Africa and its populations.
Table of Contents
General Introduction
I. Colonial Policy in Context: from the German Reich to Franco-German Relation (1870-1963)
Introduction
1. Factors of Motivations
a) Attitudes and Pressure Groups: Supporters and Opponents
b) Germany's “World Policy”
c) The Race for Africa: Economic Reasons
2. German East Africa (Deutsch-Ostafrika)
a) “The Society for German Colonization”
Die Gesellschaft fur Deutsche Kolonisation (GFDK)
b) Economic Development and Education
c) WWI: The East African Campaign
3. German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika)
a) Early Settlements
b) Rebellion against German Rule: The Herero and Namaqua Genocide
4. German West-Africa (Deutsch-Westafrika)
a) Kamerun
b) Togoland
5. Franco-German Cooperation and the Loss of Germany's Colonial Power
a) The Onset of Franco-German Cooperation
b) Elysée Treaty as an Example of Cooperation
c) The Bases of Franco-German Cooperation from the EC to the EU
Partial Conclusion
II. Multiple Collective Memories of Colonialism in Germany
Introduction
1. The African Books (Afrikabücher) as Canon of Memory
a) Germany's Colonial Revisionism
b) The First Prominent Aim of the African Books
c) The Second Prominent Aim of the African Books
2. The Celebration of Various Objects of German Memories
a) National Paradigm of Colonial Nostalgia
b) Colonial Products and Black Performances
3. New Political and Educational Framework:
Textbook Tools for Spreading National Socialist Goals
a) Educational Policy and General Attitudes from Weimar to Nazi Germany
b) Punitive Expeditions and Colonial Wars
c) Leaving Colonial History: Didactic Aims
Partial Conclusion
III. West Germany's Foreign Policy towards Africa after WWII (1949-1990)
Introduction
1. Building-up West Germany's Africa Policy
a) Immersion and Engagement outside of Europe
b) Hesitance and Emergence
c) Establishment and Evolution
2. Formal Institutional Frameworks and Informal Structures
a) The Chancellery and the Auswärtige Amt
b) The Ministry of Economic Cooperation and the Bundestag
c) Informal Agencies' Framework of West German African policy
3. West Germany's Economic Policy towards Africa after WWII
a) Socio-Economic Cooperation
b) Trade and Security
c) Content and Structure of Trade
4. Political Issues of West German Positions on Africa
a) Political Gratification and Cooperation
b) Free Trade in Terms of Policy: Import and Export
c) Leading Principles and Aims of Aid Policy
d) Development Aid Assistance Policy of West Germany towards Africa
Partial Conclusion
IV. East Germany's Foreign Policy towards Africa (1949-1990)
Introduction
1. The Evolution of East German Relations with Africa
a) The GDR's role in Africa and in the“Third World”
policy in Context of the“Global South
b) The Development of Relationship
c) The Strategy of Affiliation
2. East German Delegations in Africa
a) Securing Diplomatic Recognition
b) Securing Cultural, Spiritual and Political Relationship
c) East German Development Links with North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa
d) East German Propaganda Campaigns against the FRG's Policy in Africa
3. The Intensification of East Germany's
Economic and Political Involvement in Africa
a) Ideological Justification for GDR's Support
b) East Germany's Diplomatic Importance for Africa
c) Political Importance of East German Economic Involvement in Africa
d) The East German Profile in Africa and the Soviet Impact on GDR’s Africa Policy
Partial Conclusion
V. The African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries and Germany's Economic and Trade
Cooperations after Germany's Unification
Introduction
1. A stimulant Relation between EEC and ACP Countries and the Special Cases of
Yaounde and Lome Agreements
a) The Historical Setting of Negotiations that led to the Yaounde Convention
-The Signing of the Rome Treaties with Respect to the Overseas Countries
-The Growth of African Nationalism
b) The Yaounde Convention
-Yaounde I Convention
-Yaounde II Convention
-Tariff Provisions of the Yaounde II Convention
c) The Lome Convention
-The First ACP-EEC Convention: Lome I
-The Second ACP-EEC Convention: Lome II
-The Third ACP-EEC Convention: Lome III
-The Fourth ACP-EEC Convention: Lome IV
-The Modified Lome IV Convention
d) The Economic Performance of the Lome Convention
-Supplementary the Lome Convention Constraints
-Technology Transfer between the EEC and ACP Countries
-Technology Transfer via Imports from the EEC
-The Green Paper between EU and ACP Countries
2. The Cotonou Agreement: A New Way of Cooperation
a) From the System of Reciprocal Trade Preferences to a System of Non-Reciprocal
Trade Preferences
-Historical Overview of the EU-ACP Relationship
-The Cotonou Agreement and Compliance with WTO
-The Great influence at the WTO by the World Economic Powers
b) Cotonou Agreement: Rules of Origin and New Trade Agreements
-The Rules on Originating Products
-New Trade Agreements with the Non-LDC ACP Countries
-The Commodity Protocols and Development Co-Operation in the Area of Services and
Finances
c) Regional Integration
-Pitch-Increase of the Notion of Regional Integration in ACP Countries
-Promoting Regional Integration in Non-LDC
d) The Cotonou Agreement and Systematization the Development of Finance Co-
operations
-Increase Finance Co-operation for Financial Assistance and Technical Assistance
-STABEX and SYSMIN Instruments to Stabilize the Export from Agricultural and Mineral
Commodities
-ACP Countries-EU Tradition of Supporting Private Sector Development
e) Political Dialogue under the Cotonou Agreement
-Strengthening the Relationship between the Community and the ACP Countries
-ACP-EU Human Rights Dialogue
3. Institutionalization of Germany's Economic Relations with Africa in Common
European Policies' and Markets' Context
a) The New System of Relations of Reunified Germany with Africa
b) Foreign Affairs Minister's Meeting of ACP-EC and the Importance of Germany
c) Germany and the Cotonou Agreement
d) Germany's Main Public Agency on Trade and Economic-Aid Cooperation
4. ACP Countries Growing Participation in the Global Economic
a) The Movement of Goods and Raw Materials between Germany and ACP Countries
b) Growing Demand of Germany's Economy
c) Labor Migrations ACP Resources and Germany
d.) Basic German Layers of Attitude towards Immigrants
5. German Development Aid to ACP Countries
a) German Development Assistance through Organizations
b) Germany Pledges to Increase the Development Assistance
c) The Inflow of Foreign Direct Investments
Partial Conclusion
General Conclusion and Outlook
Objectives & Themes
This doctoral thesis provides a comprehensive historical and analytical overview of Germany’s foreign policy towards Africa from the 19th-century colonial period through the division of the two German states, culminating in the post-unification era and the specific framework of the ACP-EU cooperation.
- Historical evolution of German colonial policy in Africa and its legacy.
- Comparative analysis of West and East German Africa policies during the Cold War.
- Economic dynamics and trade instruments used by Germany in Africa.
- Collective memory and socio-political discourse surrounding colonialism in Germany.
- Institutional framework and strategies of the Cotonou Agreement and German development aid.
Auszug aus dem Buch
6. Methodology
Recent Africa research covers mainly the Post WWII, the 20th and the beginning of 21st century. In some cases, as more thorough research for the phenomenon is required, earlier temporal periods have also been considered. This study attempts to provide a rather condensed and necessarily somewhat generalized overview of the key characteristics and elements of the two Germanies relations with Africa since the creation of the FRG and the GDR in 1949. For ease of presentation and interpretation, we will use the comparative analysis to compare FRG and GDR, two basically similar events which took place in the same context. This longitudinal overview is based on a combination of influencing factors (general foreign policy periodization of both FRG and GDR, major milestones in German development and cooperation policies, outstanding phases of development on the African continent). Although the FRG and the GDR were for fourty years, during the entire period of the Cold War, staunch members of their respective ideological camps and were fiercely engaged in their own specific conflict based on inner-German competition, their contact with Africa by and large proceeded in somewhat parallel steps and phases.
Rather than relying on a single data source we would use qualitative method to gather multiple forms of data, such as interviews, maps, tables, newspapers, graphics and various documents. This method will help us to gain an understanding of reasons, opinions, motivations and dive deeper into the problem of the German-African relations with respect to their specific economic contents, and an analysis of some aspects of the complex mechanisms of German-African trade relations created over decades of investment and aid policies.
We will also use the quantitative method in order to quantify the problem by way of generating numerical data or data that can be transformed into usable statistics. We should use this approach to quantify attitudes, opinions, behaviors and other defined variables and generalize results from the literature. The quantitative approach will be expressed in numbers and illustrations. It will be useful to test or confirm theories and assumptions. This method should guide us to establish general facts about isolated data from German official statistics on Africa, as well as the original documentary and statistical information of a series of official bodies of Germany, in particular.
Summary of Chapters
I. Colonial Policy in Context: from the German Reich to Franco-German Relation (1870-1963): This chapter examines the historical foundation of German colonial activity in Africa, the specific motivations of the Bismarck era, and how these colonial legacies shifted through two World Wars into a framework of Franco-German cooperation.
II. Multiple Collective Memories of Colonialism in Germany: This chapter analyzes how German society has engaged with and remembered its colonial past from the Weimar Republic through the Nazi period, focusing on literary representations and colonial nostalgia.
III. West Germany's Foreign Policy towards Africa after WWII (1949-1990): This chapter details the development of West German foreign policy, highlighting the transition from political hesitance to active economic and diplomatic engagement through various institutional channels during the Cold War.
IV. East Germany's Foreign Policy towards Africa (1949-1990): This chapter explores the GDR's strategic efforts to build diplomatic ties with African nations as a mechanism for international recognition, often competing with the FRG within the context of the Cold War.
V. The African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries and Germany's Economic and Trade Cooperations after Germany's Unification: This chapter focuses on the institutionalized cooperation between the ACP countries and Germany, analyzing the transition from the Yaoundé and Lomé agreements to the Cotonou Agreement and contemporary economic strategies.
Keywords
German Colonialism, Africa Policy, West Germany, East Germany, ACP-EU Relations, Cotonou Agreement, Development Aid, Foreign Direct Investment, Collective Memory, International Relations, Global South, Post-colonialism, Trade Cooperation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this dissertation?
The work provides a detailed historical and political analysis of Germany's relations with African nations, covering the period from the 19th-century colonial era through the division of Germany during the Cold War and up to modern economic partnerships.
What are the central thematic areas?
The main themes include colonial history, the divergence and convergence of East and West German foreign policies, the role of collective memory, and the evolution of trade and development cooperation agreements between the EU/Germany and ACP states.
What is the main research goal?
The study aims to explain how German policies towards Africa were formulated, how historical legacies influenced these policies, and how these relations evolved through different geopolitical phases including unification and modern globalization.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author employs a comparative analysis approach, contrasting the policies of the FRG and the GDR, supported by both qualitative methods (analysis of documents, literature, and media) and quantitative methods (analysis of trade statistics and investment data).
What is covered in the main body of the text?
The main body systematically explores colonial foundations, the political evolution of foreign policy in both German states, the institutional framework of ACP agreements, and the role of private German economic interests in Africa.
Which keywords best characterize this research?
Key terms include German Foreign Policy, Africa, Colonialism, Cotonou Agreement, Development Aid, Cold War, GDR, FRG, and Regional Integration.
How does the author view the "Global South" concept?
The author critically examines the term "Global South" as a potentially ambiguous, albeit prominent, concept in academic and policy discussions, highlighting its utility as an alternative to outdated "Third World" labels while noting its risks of over-generalization.
What is the significance of the ACP-EU cooperation?
This framework is presented as a crucial instrument for North-South cooperation, focusing on trade preferences, development finance, and political dialogue, with a specific focus on how Germany engages within this collective European framework.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Affo Kassi Kassi (Autor:in), 2020, From German Colonialism in the 19th Century to Two Germanies Africa Policies in ACP Context and Beyond, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1022160
