Moses Tesi employs a dynamic transnational perspective to understand the bilateral relations between France and its former colony of Cameroon. . . Tesi’s use of a more dynamic transactional bargaining model is novel not least because it affords us an opportunity to question the notion that economic dependence always gives rise to compliant foreign policy behavior. Instead, his analysis helps us to see the fluidity and complexity of foreign policy outcomes even under conditions of dependence.

African Studies Quarterly

[Tesi] has provided a constructive examination of important factors influencing Cameroon’s foreign policy and has contributed to that literature suggesting the relevance of modified models in mainstream IR to Africa’s international relations, and that which demonstrates the agency of African states in their foreign policies in the post-colonial era in spite of their often subaltern position in world affairs.

Journal of Modern African Studies

Skillfully weaving the history of bilateral commercial, economic, and diplomatic interactions between Cameroon and France, Tesi highlights the inherent tensions between the question for sovereignty and the imperative for development. The book contributes to the understudied and undertheorized relationship between a "minor state" and a dominant state using a transactional framework.

Karen A. Mingst, University of Kentucky

Moses Tesi offers a rigorous, original and superb analysis of post-colonial France-Cameroon relations that embodies many typical political-economic and cultural interactions between a former colonial power (France) and its former colony (Cameroon). The issues that comprise the substance of their bilateral interactions are clearly presented as the product of their evolving mutual interests immediately following Cameroon’s independence. The analysis contributes academically original and mature insight within a framework of dynamism in their relationship and not the often static analysis of core-periphery, north-south, or developed-developing country approaches. This is a timely and thorough analysis that develops a more reliable way of assessing political, economic, and policy relationships between great powers and small powers. It could serve as a model for the examination of other cases of north-south interactions. It is an excellent addition to all France-Africa resource collection. Even a cursory examination of the book will reveal its dynamic analytical structure, as well as the personal acquaintance of the writer with the subject matter.

Earl Conteh-Morgan, Professor of International Studies, University of South Florida

Professor Tesi has written an important book. It is much more than a narrative on the creation and execution of Cameroon’s foreign policy. In addition to placing events within their proper historical context, the book delves into the nation’s many flashpoints such as identity politics, Francophone, Anglophone, rural-urban conflict, and corruption. The book is a timely and significant addition to Cameroonian and African studies.

Julius Amin, University of Dayton