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Introduction
DOI link for Introduction
Introduction book
Introduction
DOI link for Introduction
Introduction book
ABSTRACT
The new approach to Cold War Studies, drawing on a range of archives, is part of the current trend to look at global trends and connections to develop a more nuanced understanding of the pervasive and enduring impact of the Cold War environment upon the processes of political change in different regions of the world.1 The renewed stress of the subtleties of ideology – as cultural/historic belief systems and mindsets, as well as declared political dogma – underlines the importance in this era of prevailing perceptions and interpretative models projected onto the ‘other’ side. As superpower confrontation and friction moved to the so-called ‘Third World’, by the 1970s Southern Africa rapidly became one of the cauldrons of the Cold War struggle. This process intensified with the final disintegration of the Portuguese Empire in Africa in 1975, after the overthrow of the Allende regime in Chile and the fall of Saigon in 1975. Thanks to the wealth of newly available archival material, from government and non-governmental sources in Southern Africa and outside, a more complex picture is emerging of the dynamics of the Cold War and its corrupting effect on the transition to majority rule in Southern Africa. The ideological contest between global economic systems, which intersected with the process of European decolonization, intensified and prolonged the struggle between the remaining white minorities in power and black nationalist movements. This volume brings together a series of chapters by leading scholars based on a wide range of sources in the United States, Russia, Cuba, Britain, Zambia and South Africa. By focussing on a range of independent actors, these chapters highlight the complexity of the conflict in Southern Africa: a battle of power blocs, of systems and ideas, which intersected with notions and practices of race and class. The conflict impinged upon the perceptions and fears of the local elites and liberation actors, their organizational models and mobilization tactics, as well as framing the outlook and activities of the superpowers and their ideological allies. Thus, the Cold War struggle in the region was not simply a bipolar contest between the United States and the USSR, nor their associated blocs. Indeed, fixated on their own agenda, local actors had little interest in the confrontation between Washington and Moscow. But, in the complicated dynamic of domestic, regional and international rivalries in the aftermath of independence from European colonial powers, the confrontation between the remaining white minority
governments and black liberation movements encouraged the various parties to apply for outside support from both blocs. Therefore, not only were external actors drawn in – the United States with its interest in maintaining access to the region’s strategic resources, and preventing the emergence of hostile regimes, and the socialist bloc, intent on supporting the ‘anti-imperialist struggle’. Local actors were able to draw on external assistance from these blocs as they pursued their own vision of modernity – with varying degrees of success. This was intended either to increase their military strength and political influence vis-à-vis their white opponents and black rivals, or to establish a policy of non-alignment and equidistance to enhance their autonomy and freedom to manoeuvre in the international system. The region therefore must be seen as an integral part of ‘the international civil war’ of the twentieth century, as the battle between ‘centre-right and left’ interacted with the politics of race, and the process of decolonization. And what is particularly striking is the polarization of politics and the militarization of the struggle in the Southern African region, as the discourse of liberalism and arguments for evolutionary, socio-economic change were effectively sidelined. (The media and propaganda wars conducted by both the National Party and Rhodesian Front governments and their allies in the media, emphasized an allembracing communist threat, were an important aspect of this.) Furthermore, the associated trauma and upheaval to vast numbers of people in the region has had a lasting impact on Southern Africa society.2 These legacies continue to play into contemporary political cultures and compromise successful transitions to democratic governance. The great challenge common to Southern African liberation movements has been how to achieve transition from armed struggle to the practice of government. This involves a fundamental metamorphosis of identity, political practice and debate. These challenges have their roots firmly within ‘the historical hinterland’ of the Cold War era. Therefore, the role and impact of Cold War, which some regard as irrelevant to Southern African contemporary politics and societies, needs to be recognized and explored in much greater detail. The chapters in this volume have been organized broadly thematically, to look at white minority nationalism and the Cold War; and black liberation and the Cold War. The chapters are presented in broadly chronological order within these two sections, to highlight new research and previously unexplored aspects of the regional struggle for power, whilst also pointing to new avenues of research and analysis that need to be developed. This book makes no attempt to present a definitive narrative of the complex history of the period and region, and the multiplicity of actors involved. (For example, the role of the GDR deserves more detailed examination,3 as well as the People’s Republic of China and Yugoslavia. Similarly, the role of the European Economic Community, the contribution of other East European countries, such as Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and Romania, as well as the Front Line States, all deserve further analysis.)4
This volume also only refers to Lusophone Africa in general terms. This is not to ignore the importance of the Cold War to the ongoing Angolan civil war,5 nor the extent to which the ideological agenda of the FRELIMO government,
and external interference or highly qualified support, complicated the subsequent history of post-independence Mozambique. The story of the Rhodesian, South African and subsequently the Reagan Administration’s support for the MNR/ Renamo resistance movement similarly deserves much greater examination.6 There are extensive documents on American involvement in the Mozambique civil war in the National Security Archives collection at George Washington University which tell part of the tale; however, it must be said that this narrative also requires extensive use of memoir and secondary literature in Portuguese – at present much of the existing material is not translated – as well as use of archival holdings in Mozambique and Lisbon.7