The Lingering Ravages of Colonialism : A Case study of neocolonialism through Cooperation Agreements in Cote D’Ivoire, and its impact on growth and development.

Abstract: It has been over sixty (60) years since decolonization in Africa. In years gone by, a pattern has emerged of former French colonies being marginally worse off than their British counterparts. Britain and France as the two most dominant colonial powers in Africa allows for these comparisons in growth and development to be made. Using a case study of Cote D’Ivoire, this study argues the continuous existence of neocolonialism in former French colonies through cooperation agreements as an explanation to this divergence in growth. The research question posed is: “To what extent was the Cooperation Agreements signed between France and Cote D’Ivoire in 1960 a pivot from France colonial to neocolonial rule in Cote D’Ivoire?” In order to answer this question a conceptual framework focusing in particular on colonialism, extractive political and economic institutions, neocolonialism, dependency, and the structural theory of imperialism were chosen. The methods employed were secondary literature review, content analysis of the cooperation agreements signed between France and Cote D’Ivoire in 1960, and a conducted survey of Ivorians. This study concludes that these Agreements cede to France indirect and subtle control in all aspects of Ivorian statehood: economy, finance, military, foreign policy, diplomacy, trade, judiciary, education, natural resources, and even internal security. This has resulted in Cote D’Ivoire being politically and economically dependent on France. Arguably, the most detrimental to Ivorian growth and development is its lack of monetary control through the continuous use of the colonial currency of the CFA franc and membership in CFA Zone. As a currency, the CFA franc is pegged to the French franc and now Euro. This study argues that the currency is overvalued and incongruent to growth and development in an agricultural export-based economy like Cote D’Ivoire. And being political dependent on France renders Ivorian leaders reluctant to opt their country out from the CFA Zone, thus perpetuating a cycle of exploitation and inhibiting growth. The result of this study contributes to studies on growth divergence in Africa, and towards understanding relations between former colonies and colonizers, and its impact on global wealth divides and dependency.