By Understanding The Casablanca & Monrovia Blocs By OIA
The Casablanca and Monrovia Blocs were two rival groups of newly independent African states that emerged in the early 1960s.
Their central disagreement was on the best path to achieve Pan-Africanism, the idea of a unified and independent Africa.
Here’s a breakdown of the key differences:
■CASABLANCA Bloc
▪ View on Pan-Africanism: Advocated for immediate and radical political unity. They believed that only a strong, supranational political federation—a “United States of Africa”—could overcome colonialism, foster economic development, and give Africa a powerful voice on the world stage.
▪ Approach: They were more ideologically aligned with socialist and non-aligned principles.
▪ Key Members: Led by prominent figures like Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Gamal Abdel-Nasser of Egypt. Other members included Algeria, Guinea, Libya, Mali, and Morocco.
▪ Goals: They sought to transfer significant power from national governments to a continental authority, even proposing a pan-African army.
■MONROVIA Bloc
▪ View on Pan-Africanism: Advocated for a more moderate and gradual approach to unity. They prioritized the sovereignty and territorial integrity of individual states.
▪ Approach: They preferred a looser alliance focused on economic cooperation and political collaboration rather than a full political federation.
▪ Key Members: Included Nigeria, Ethiopia, Liberia, and most of the Francophone African countries.
▪ Goals: Their main objective was to strengthen their own newly independent nations and build cooperation through practical steps in areas like economics, education, and culture without giving up national sovereignty.
The outcome:
The ideological divide between the two blocs was a major point of contention in the early years of post-colonial Africa. However, this conflict ultimately led to a compromise. In 1963, the two groups united to form the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).
The OAU’s charter reflected the principles of the Monrovia Bloc, emphasizing the sovereign equality of member states and non-interference in their internal affairs, effectively choosing the gradualist approach over the radical political unification championed by the Casablanca Bloc.
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