ABSTRACT
African diplomacy has survived a number of crises in the Organization of African Unity (OAU) turbulent twenty-year history but the Nigerian and Angolan civil wars were potentially the most divisive. One of the OAU's most enduring articles of faith has been Article III of its Charter and similar sections emphasizing noninterference, sovereignty, and the inviolability of the inherited colonial boundaries. Economic prospects and political survival were not the only moderating influences on policy decisions. For instance, the strident tone of the Algiers resolution was not unconnected with the prospects of imminent military defeat of Biafra. Angola presented a different set of constraints and opportunities for African diplomacy. In contrast to Nigeria, none of the religio-cultural influences on African decision-makers was relevant. By the end of the 1970s, the academic as well as popular literature on African international relations had grown considerably.
