Eurafrica

<p>In this episode we consider how the very foundation of the EU was grounded on an extractivist model. In their book <em>Eurafrica, the Untold History of European Integration and Colonialism</em>, Prof. Peo Hansen and Prof. Stefan Jonsson, debunk the theory of what they refer to as the “Immaculate Conception of the European Union formation,” one where a group of benevolent Western European leaders chose to set aside nationalist rivalries to unite for peace, democracy and freedom, to one where the cooperation of European states to no little extent was predicated upon the exploitation of African resources, which could be better accomplished through a coordinated effort.</p> <p>This institutionalised the colonies’ role as purveyors of raw materials. Hansen and Jonsson have summarised it as follows: “Eurafrica is able to make sense both of the political and discursive discontinuity and the infrastructural or economic continuity between the late colonial period and an emerging Neo-colonial globalisation.” This is supported by archival research, foremost into the inter-governmental negotiations that led up to the signing of the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and numerous other sources. As one analyst put it in 1957: “It is in Africa that Europe will be made.”</p> <p><em>The EURO—VISION Podcast is also featured in the fourth issue of The Contemporary Journal, <a style="background: #f2e315; font-weight: 500;" href="https://www.librarystack.org/emergency-and-emergence/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Emergency and Emergence</a>.</em></p>