This study investigates how the geopolitical imperatives of Britain and France in Europe and the global arena dictated their colonial policies in West Africa between 1939 and 1956. John Kent, a scholar of international history, utilizes extensive archival research from both London and Paris to challenge the notion that colonial policy was developed in isolation. He argues that the administrative decisions made in Black Africa were inextricably linked to the broader diplomatic and strategic needs of the two powers during and after the Second World War.

Historians and scholars of African affairs recognize this work as a foundational comparative study of mid-twentieth-century colonial policy. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose and the rigorous archival methodology employed by the author.