National identities and the decolonization experiences of France and Great Britain

Abstract

By the late twentieth century, both France and Great Britain achieved a similar status as economically-developed democracies of middling size within a global capitalist system. Yet each entered the twentieth century administering vast colonial possessions that spanned the globe. France, however, violently resisted the demise of its empire, fighting two wars in a single decade in Southeast Asia and North Africa. In contrast, Great Britain allowed its much more substantial empire to dissolve without significant resistance. What accounts for their varying responses to the process of decolonization? Though the material costs and benefits of empire clearly influenced both countries' responses to decolonization, these considerations alone do not account for the different responses. This thesis applies a social constructivist approach that goes beyond material interests to highlight how ideas about national identity in France and Great Britain shaped their responses to the common pressures toward decolonization.