Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

Contemporary History, International Relations

Regions:

Africa, Europe

Summary of research interests and expertise:

• Marco Wyss is Professor of International History and Security and the Director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University; a Research Fellow at the Department of Military History, Faculty of Military Science, Stellenbosch University; and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London. Before coming to Lancaster, he worked as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Chichester, and a Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich. He also was a Senior Researcher at the University of Lausanne and a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, and held visiting professorships at Sciences Po Lille and Sciences Po Aix. Marco holds an MA in History and Philosophy from the University of Neuchâtel, and an MA in International History from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, and gained his PhD in Politics and International Relations, as well as in History, from the Universities of Nottingham and Neuchâtel.
• My research focuses predominantly on the international history of the Cold War. While the initial focus was on the role of neutrality and Britain in the East-West struggle, I am currently working on the Cold War in the so-called Third World, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, I have also carried out research on peacekeeping in Africa, and the transformation of European armed forces since the end of the Cold War. Prior to moving into and beyond the Cold War, I carried out research on volunteers in the Waffen-SS.

Project summary relevant to Fellowship:

Currently, my major research project examines and compares the postcolonial security roles of Britain and France in West Africa within the framework of decolonisation and the Cold War (1958-1965). The aim is to analyse how the imperial powers negotiated with Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire the transfer of power to maintain influence against the pressures from the Cold War and its superpowers, African nationalism, Pan-Africanism, and non-alignment. This allows us to assess whether West Africa was part of individual or common British and French post-imperial or, rather, Cold War grand strategic designs. The project intentionally avoids a Eurocentric perspective by drawing on multi-archival research in Africa, Europe, and the United States, the recent historiography of imperial history and decolonisation, Africa, the Cold War, and post-colonial theory. Ultimately, it aims to contribute to and advance the study of the Global Cold War.

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