Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List

Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until August 04, 2029

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Nuclear Politics in the Age of Decolonization: France’s Sahara Tests and the Advent of the Global Nuclear Order

Tiglay, Leyla
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1721056242913153

Abstract Details

2024, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, History.
France's nuclear tests in the Sahara, conducted between 1960 and 1966, catalyzed a series of events that profoundly influenced global nuclear politics and the process of African decolonization. Set against the backdrop of the Algerian War, African decolonization, and Cold War competition, the atomic tests in the Sahara had far-reaching implications beyond the immediate scope of France's nuclear ambitions. This dissertation examines the relationship between France's nuclear tests, the unfolding decolonization in Africa, and the making of the global nuclear order. By situating the Sahara tests within the broader context of the end of colonial empires and the dawn of the nuclear age, it offers a fresh perspective on the factors that shaped nuclear decision-making in the post-World War II era. Divided into two parts with six chapters, this project's first part examines how decolonization affected nuclear politics, tracing the decline of the French colonial empire from the 1950s colonization of the Sahara to the establishment of nuclear infrastructure and Great Power nuclear diplomacy. The second part inquires the reverse dynamic, exploring how nuclear politics influenced the decolonization process and postcolonial countries in Africa. I argue that decolonization conditioned and shaped the initial conditions of nuclear politics at a global level, with France's Sahara tests serving as an exceptional event that catalyzed these profound impacts in both the Global North and the Global South. Drawing on a wide range of primary sources from multiple countries, including newly declassified documents from French, British, and U.S. archives, as well as materials from several African countries such as Nigeria, Zambia, Namibia, and Ghana, this research delves into the reactions and resistance of African states, non-state actors, transnational activist networks, and the international community to France's nuclear testing, revealing the web of interests and power dynamics that defined the nuclear age. The project also incorporates sources from nongovernmental organizations, eyewitness accounts, and memoirs in French and German, accessed through both in-person and online research. By emphasizing the central role of decolonization in shaping nuclear policies and practices, my research project contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the nuclear age. It highlights the interconnections between science, technology, and international politics, and how these forces continue to mold our world today. Through reframing the history of the nuclear age from the perspective of decolonization, this research opens new avenues for exploring the global implications of nuclear technology and its enduring legacy.
R. Joseph Parrott (Advisor)
Alice Conklin (Committee Member)
Christopher Otter (Committee Member)
269 p.
African History; European History; History; International Relations; Science History
Nuclear weapons, decolonization, Cold War, Africa, France, Algeria, Sahara, non-proliferation, disarmament, nuclear tests, nuclear technology, anti-colonialism

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Tiglay, L. (2024). Nuclear Politics in the Age of Decolonization: France’s Sahara Tests and the Advent of the Global Nuclear Order [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1721056242913153

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Tiglay, Leyla. Nuclear Politics in the Age of Decolonization: France’s Sahara Tests and the Advent of the Global Nuclear Order. 2024. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1721056242913153.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Tiglay, Leyla. "Nuclear Politics in the Age of Decolonization: France’s Sahara Tests and the Advent of the Global Nuclear Order." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2024. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1721056242913153

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1721056242913153
© 2024, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.