ABSTRACT
It has often been said that the Sahara, rather than a barrier, has been a conduit for communication between North and sub-Saharan Africa. Thus, it is no coincidence that during the era of decolonisation political developments in two countries on opposite sides of the desert were closely bound up with each other, i.e. Algeria and Niger. This article argues, in this respect, two central points. Firstly, the history of Niger’s accession to formal independence (1960) cannot be fully understood without considering political developments in Algeria and, beyond, those in metropolitan France. Secondly, it is contended that, during the first half of the 1960s, Niger’s state security hinged to a considerable extent on its relations with its own domestic opposition, the ‘Sawaba’ party. This party had been outlawed in the late 1950s and received the backing of the Algerian government, thereby complicating Niger’s relations with Algiers.
