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Paper short abstract

This paper outlines the history of the Sawaba movement in Niger, detailing its rise as the predominant nationalist force in the 1950s.

Paper long abstract

The history of Sawaba as the nationalist movement of Niger in the 1950s is traced from a social history perspective, laying emphasis on the social backgrounds of its activists and its character as a self-styled revolutionary movement. In this respect its approach to violence in political agitation and the organisation of the guerrilla campaign with which it aimed to topple the French-backed regime after independence (1960-1966) are discussed, advancing the half-way character of its transformation from a social movement into a guerrilla force as one of the fundamental reasons for its ultimate defeat and destruction.