This study assesses the extent to which African decolonization resulted from deliberate imperial policy, from the pressures of African nationalism, or from an international situation transformed by superpower rivalries. It analyzes what powers were transferred and to whom they were given.Pan-Africanism is seen not only in its own right but as indicating the transformation of expectations when the new rulers, who had endorsed its geopolitical logic before taking power, settled into the routines of government.