ABSTRACT
I n accounts of the history of the twentieth century it is fair to say that often references to Africa are few and far between. Arguably this is because the prevailing image in the West of the continent is that it is one locked in an endless cycle of
corruption, poverty and political violence, which brings misery to Africans but has little impact on international politics as a whole. However, it is wrong to see Africa in this simplistic way, for the history of the continent involves some of the key themes of the second half of the twentieth century, such as the end of European imperialism, the debate about underdevelopment, and the degree to which the Cold War paradigm dominated international politics. Indeed, few areas of the world have changed so drastically since 1945. When the Second World War came to an end, Africa remained very largely under the control of European imperial powers and with no prospect of independence being offered in the immediate future. Yet within the space of twenty years most of the continent had thrown off the shackles of direct colonial rule, and by 1994 the last vestiges of white minority rule had disappeared completely with the collapse of apartheid. In addition, Africa is important because it is seen so often in the West as a prime example of how Third World poverty perpetuates itself, for this raises the question why this should be so. Is it because Africa has been singularly unfortunate in its rulers since independence, or
because the factors that have led to endemic corruption and instability are linked to its colonial past or to its role as yet another pawn in the global Cold War?
