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LE GOUVERNEMENT DES COLONIES, REGARDS CROISÉS FRANCO‐BRITANNIQUES ‐ Edited by Véronique Dimier

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date01 August 2006
Date01 August 2006
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2006.00612_11.x
AuthorTony Chafer
806 REVIEWS
© Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2006 Public Administration Vol. 84, No. 3, 2006 (783–810)
LE GOUVERNEMENT DES COLONIES, REGARDS CROISÉS
FRANCO-BRITANNIQUES
Véronique Dimier
Editions de l ’ Université de Bruxelles, 2004, 288 pp., 23 euros (pb)
ISBN: 2800413255
Historians have traditionally contrasted the French approach to colonial
rule in its black African colonies to the British approach. According to this
view, expressed notably by the distinguished British historian Michael
Crowder, French ‘ direct rule ’ tended towards the destruction of indigenous
customs and institutions. Or at least it reduced them to mere cogs in a uni-
tary and centralized administrative system, the ultimate objective of which
was assimilation to the French republican model. British ‘ indirect rule ’ , on
the other hand, was said to be more pragmatic, more decentralized and
more diverse in nature, ref‌l ecting greater respect for local chiefs and a
greater willingness to adapt to local customs and institutions ( Crowder
1964 ). This view has been challenged by French historians and notably by

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