Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Overseas France
- Chapter 2 The Colonial Heritage
- Chapter 3 Decolonisation and Institutional Change since 1940
- Chapter 4 Population and Society
- Chapter 5 Economic Change: From Production to Consumption
- Chapter 6 Culture, Identity and National Consciousness
- Chapter 7 The Shape of Politics in the DOM-TOMs
- Chapter 8 Towards Independence?
- Chapter 9 The DOM-TOMs and the Wider World
- Chapter 10 The Ties that Bind
- Notes
- Bibliographical Essay
- Glossary
- Index
Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 November 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Maps
- Tables
- Preface
- Chapter 1 Overseas France
- Chapter 2 The Colonial Heritage
- Chapter 3 Decolonisation and Institutional Change since 1940
- Chapter 4 Population and Society
- Chapter 5 Economic Change: From Production to Consumption
- Chapter 6 Culture, Identity and National Consciousness
- Chapter 7 The Shape of Politics in the DOM-TOMs
- Chapter 8 Towards Independence?
- Chapter 9 The DOM-TOMs and the Wider World
- Chapter 10 The Ties that Bind
- Notes
- Bibliographical Essay
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
THERE IS no single study of the history, politics and contemporary socioeconomic structure of what remains of France's overseas empire — the départements et territoires d'outre-mer, or DOM-TOMs. Material on the DOM-TOMs is rare in English (although several recent books have looked at French Polynesia and New Caledonia). In French, coverage is dispersed among various theses, highly specialised journals and official publications which are not easily accessible even within France. This book therefore represents the first full-scale academic treatment of the DOM-TOMs. Without claiming to be an in-depth study of each of the DOM-TOMs, it examines the historical evolution and socioeconomic structure of the DOM-TOMs and assesses their contemporary political and economic importance to France, the genesis of nationalist movements and the impact of France on the evolution of its distant territories. It also explores the phenomenon of the DOM-TOMs in a theoretical sense, to examine whether the DOM-TOMs represent the ‘failure’ or the ‘end’ of French decolonisation or quite different paths of decolonisation from the more usual one towards independence. The results of this analysis suggest that existing ideas on the theory and practice of decolonisation must be modified to take account of the particular situation of these remnants of empire.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- France's Overseas FrontierDépartements et territoires d'outre-mer, pp. ix - xPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1992