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.