Paper short abstract:

This paper addresses civil aviation as a projection and tool of high modern power, including how populations engaged with or challenged such uses. We explore the specificity of that modernity in the African context as a social and cultural history connected to but not dependent on technical history

Paper long abstract:

This paper addresses civil aviation as a projection and tool of high modern power. Prior to the advent of mass aviation in the 00's, flying formed as much a projection of modern life as it provided global connectivity. We seek to address the specificity of that modernity in the African context as a social and cultural history connected to - but not dependent on - technical history. Aviation was first introduced as a tool of empire in which the projection of modern power in technical performance soon took a primary place of importance. The association of aviation with modernity continued following decolonisation, when African "flag carriers" were the celebrated emblems of national independence and state power. The operational and financial problems of African airlines, frequently ending in their demise, became an indication of the state of their countries. African airlines thus remained an emblem for independent African states, but not in the way the leaders of African independence had anticipated. Flying remains a powerful instrument of social, economic and political power and status to those Africans who have access to it and an object of desire to those who have not. As intercontinental aviation became more securitised and scrutinised in the wake of 9/11 and the rise of global anti emigration policies, the word "flight" took on a double meaning for Africans who dream of a better life elsewhere, while for the travels of the affluent the double meaning of the French word "vol" might have become an appropriate aphorism.