A Comparative Study of French and British Decolonization

At first, the tradition, at an ideological and institutional level, of The United Kingdom, the relationship between the Kingdom and the United States of America and also a better capacity of controlling the whole process and the nature of the elites they were confronting, gave the United Kingdom of Great Britain, an advantage before France.

The United Kingdom used the 'Dominion' system (which it also founded) in order to control the gradually pass to independence.

The empires' politics was that of favourising nationalist groups, depending on their own interests.

France, on the other hand, didn't want to liberate the detained domains, the 'Union' sustaining that although they will not be part and parcel of France, they will not be given freedom either. Thus, France cannot be blamed for its incapacity to offer independence, but for the vehemence with which they refused this political option.

While The United Kingdom of Great Britain was enjoying coherency, logic and power, France has shown weakness during the third and the forth Republic.

Another difference between the two powers was that the United Kingdom was divided in two parties, unlike France, which was characterized by a pluralist system of parties.

In 1935, a very important act concerning the form of government of India, succeeded in according independence to India, and was followed by other essential reforms.

In Algeria, the nationalist won through unity, determination and action, while the loss of Indochina, and was another strike received by the regime. Due to the fact that Algeria and Kenya were important income sources, the economic interests influenced both France and England.

We cannot neglect the importance of natives in Asia and Africa, who had a decisive role in their liberation. The ethnic groups were preserved better than social and economic groups, due to certain structures created in 1947.

Due to the fall of the fourth French Republic, Africa was put in a great balance situation: to choose state independency or subordination to France.

In Indonesia, communism appeared and advanced on the political stage and in the political life, more than in any other countries.

We can conclude that The United Kingdom was advanced from different perspectives, and that the decolonization is the result of the outstanding nationalism in the occupied countries and of imperialist politics, these two being different and having different consequences.