Quis costodiet ipsos custodes? : the problems of policing in anglophone Africa during the transfer of power
The main purpose of the thesis is to explore the role of colonial police forces in anglophone Africa in the period between 1947 and 1964/5 when the transition from colonial dependencies to independent nation-states took place. The police are an important component of all modern states. It is argued in the thesis that the police formed one of the key foundation stones of the colonial state in Africa. The question of how to deal with colonial police forces in the post World War Two period severely tested policy makers both in Whitehall and in the individual territories. The related problems of the role of the military forces also arose. On the one hand, there was perceived to be a need sharply to increase the strength of the police, as well as to militarise them and radically to improve intelligence systems. This was as a result of what was seen as the growing threat of communism and because of civil disorders, usually inspired by nationalist sentiment, such as those in Accra in 1948. On the other hand, there was a desire to insulate the police from political interference with the advent of self-government in the various territories. As decolonisation proceeded, it was seen that the cherished 'Westminster Model'
Morrison, Hamish
Police ; Law enforcement ; Decolonization
Quis costodiet ipsos custodes? : the problems of policing in anglophone Africa during the transfer of power. The main purpose of the thesis is to explore the role of colonial police forces in anglophone Africa in the period between 1947 and 1964/5 when the transition from colonial dependencies to independent nation-states took place. The police are an important component of all modern states. It is argued in the thesis that the police formed one of the key foundation stones of the colonial state in Africa. The question of how to deal with colonial police forces in the post World War Two period severely tested policy makers both in Whitehall and in the individual territories. The related problems of the role of the military forces also arose. On the one hand, there was perceived to be a need sharply to increase the strength of the police, as well as to militarise them and radically to improve intelligence systems. This was as a result of what was seen as the growing threat of communism and because of civil disorders, usually inspired by nationalist sentiment, such as those in Accra in 1948. On the other hand, there was a desire to insulate the police from political interference with the advent of self-government in the various territories. As decolonisation proceeded, it was seen that the cherished 'Westminster Model'
problem police anglophone africa transfer_power main_purpose explore_role colonial police force anglophone africa period_transition colonial dependency independent nation states take_place police important_component modern state argued police form one_key foundation stone colonial_state africa question deal colonial police force post world_war_two period severely tested policy_maker whitehall individual territory related problem role military_force also arise one_hand perceive need sharply increase strength police well radically improve intelligence system see grow threat communism civil disorder usually inspire nationalist sentiment hand desire police political interference advent self_government various territory decolonisation proceed see westminster model