The rise and fall of the Mali Federation
The rise and fall of the Mali Federation

Summary/Abstract: The Mali Federation may be perceived as one of the first African attempts at regional integration. After the Loi-cadre was enacted in 1959, the French colonies started their path toward independence, and they sought for cooperation. However, both views on the future relationship with the Fifth Republic and internal disputes over power distribution came as their most significant threats. The author analyses the idea and the creation of the Mali Federation, taking into consideration the political and historical factors. The aim of this paper is to present a general overview of one of the first and most important independence movements in West Africa. The federation was to consist initially of 4 states, but eventually, only 2 of them, i.e., French Sudan and Senegal, decided to adopt its constitution. Those two countries shared many similarities with each other; however, the lack of agreement between the parties prevented the effective functioning of the federation as a sovereign state. Although it existed only for two months, the Mali Federation marked the possibilities and the difficulties for the African cooperation and integration processes for the next decades.

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