Cold War in Southern Africa: White Power, Black Liberation

266 Pages·2009·0.91 MB·English

by  Sue Onslow

Cold War in Southern Africa
This edited volume examines the complexities of the Cold War in Southern
Africa and uses a range of archives to develop a more detailed understanding of
the impact of the Cold War environment upon the processes of political change.
In the aftermath of European decolonization, the struggle between white
minority governments and black liberation movements encouraged both sides to
appeal for external support from the two superpower blocs. Cold War in South-
ern Africa highlights the importance of the global ideological environment on
the perceptions and consequent behaviour of the white minority regimes, the
black nationalist movements, and the newly independent African nationalist
governments. Together, these chapters underline the variety of archival sources
on the history of Southern Africa in the Cold War and its growing importance in
Cold War Studies.
This volume brings together contributions 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 contributions
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
This book will appeal to students of Cold War Studies, US foreign policy,
African politics and International History.
Sue Onslow has taught at the London School of Economics since 1994. She is
currently a Cold War Studies Fellow in the Cold War Studies Centre/IDEAS.
Cold War history series
Series Editors: Odd Arne Westad and Michael Cox
ISSN: 1471-3829
In the new history of the Cold War that has been forming since 1989, many of
the established truths about the international conflict that shaped the latter half of
the twentieth century have come up for revision. The present series is an attempt
to make available interpretations and materials that will help further the develop-
ment of this new history, and it will concentrate in particular on publishing expo-
sitions of key historical issues and critical surveys of newly available sources.
1 Reviewing the Cold War
Approaches, interpretations, and theory
Edited by Odd Arne Westad
2 Rethinking Theory and History in the Cold War
Richard Saull
3 British and American Anticommunism before the Cold War
Marrku Ruotsila
4 Europe, Cold War and Co- existence, 1953–1965
Edited by Wilfred Loth
5 The Last Decade of the Cold War
From conflict escalation to conflict transformation
Edited by Olav Njølstad
6 Reinterpreting the End of the Cold War
Issues, interpretations, periodizations
Edited by Silvio Pons and Federico Romero
7 Across the Blocs
Cold War cultural and social history
Edited by Rana Mitter and Patrick Major
8 US Paramilitary Assistance to South Vietnam
Insurgency, subversion and public order
William Rosenau
9 The European Community and the Crises of the 1960s
Negotiating the Gaullist challenge
N. Piers Ludlow
10 Soviet–Vietnam Relations and the Role of China 1949–64
Changing alliances
Mari Olsen
11 The Third Indochina War
Conflict between China, Vietnam and Cambodia, 1972–79
Edited by Odd Arne Westad and Sophie Quinn- Judge
12 Greece and the Cold War
Front line state, 1952–1967
Evanthis Hatzivassiliou
13 Economic Statecraft during the Cold War
European responses to the US trade embargo
Frank Cain
14 Macmillan, Khrushchev and the Berlin Crisis, 1958–1960
Kitty Newman
15 The Emergence of Détente in Europe
Brandt, Kennedy and the formation of Ostpolitik
Arne Hofmann
16 European Integration and the Cold War
Ostpolitik–Westpolitik, 1965–1973
N. Piers Ludlow
17 Britain, Germany and the Cold War
The search for a European détente 1949–1967
R. Gerald Hughes
18 The Military Balance in the Cold War
US perceptions and policy, 1976–85
David M. Walsh
19 The Cold War in the Middle East
Regional conflict and the superpowers 1967–73
Nigel J. Ashton
20 The Making of Détente
Eastern and Western Europe in the Cold War, 1945–65
Edited by Wilfred Loth and Georges-H enri Soutou
21 Europe and the End of the Cold War
A reappraisal
Edited by Frédéric Bozo, Marie- Pierre Rey, N. Piers Ludlow
and Leopoldo Nuti
22 The Baltic Question During the Cold War
Edited by John Hiden, Vahur Made and David J. Smith
23 Reheating the Cold War
From Vietnam to Gorbachev, 1975–1985
Edited by Leopoldo Nuti
24 Cold War in Southern Africa
White power, black liberation
Edited by Sue Onslow
Cold War in Southern Africa
White power, black liberation
Edited by Sue Onslow
First published 2009
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2009 Selection and editorial matter, Sue Onslow; individual chapters,
the contributors
Typeset in Times by Wearset Ltd, Boldon, Tyne and Wear
Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJI Digital, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Cold war in southern Africa: white power, black liberation/edited by
Sue Onslow.
p. cm.
1. Africa, Southern–Politics and government–1975–1994. 2. Black
nationalism–Africa, Southern. 3. Apartheid–Africa, Southern. 4. Cold
War. I. Onslow, Sue, 1958–
DT1165.C65 2009
968.0009'045–dc22
2009002241
ISBN10: 0-415-47420-5 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0-203-87424-2 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-47420-7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-87424-0 (ebk)
Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction 1
SUE ONSLOW
1 The Cold War in Southern Africa: white power, black
nationalism and external intervention 9
SUE ONSLOW
2 Racism, the Cold War and South Africa’s regional security
strategies 1948–1990 35
JOHN DANIEL
3 The USA and apartheid South Africa’s nuclear aspirations,
1949–1980 55
ANNA-MART VAN WYK
4 The impact of anti- communism on white Rhodesian political
culture, c.1920s–1980 84
DONAL LOWRY
5 The South African factor in Zimbabwe’s transition to
independence 110
SUE ONSLOW
6 Non- alignment on the racial frontier: Zambia and the USA,
1964–1968 130
ANDY DEROCHE
viii Contents
7 Unsung heroes: the Soviet military and the liberation of
Southern Africa 154
VLADIMIR SHUBIN
8 Terrorists or freedom fighters? Jimmy Carter and Rhodesia 177
NANCY MITCHELL
9 From Cassinga to New York: the struggle for the
independence of Namibia 201
PIERO GLEIJESES
10 The Angola/Namibia crisis of 1988 and its resolution 225
CHRIS SAUNDERS
Conclusion 241
SUE ONSLOW
Index 245
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the contributors to this volume, for their energy and coop-
eration, especially Chris Saunders, Vladimir Shubin and Anna-Mart van Wyk. My
additional thanks to Professors Irina Filatova and Paul Moorcroft for their insights
and comments, as well as Professor Arne Westad and Professor Mick Cox at the
Cold War Studies Centre/IDEAS at the London School of Economics, whose
interest and support made this original project possible, and Sveta and Bane for
their laughter and kindness. Above all, to Professor Anita Prazmowska, who lent
me her office, drank endless cups of coffee with me, and prodded me relentlessly.
The publisher and author would like to thank the copyright holders for grant-
ing permission to reprint the following material:
Anna-Mart van Wyk, ‘Ally or Critic? The United States’ Response to South
African Nuclear Development, 1949–1980’.
Donal Lowry, ‘The Impact of Anti-C ommunism on White Rhodesian Political
Culture, c.1920s–1980’.
Andy DeRoche, ‘Non- alignment on the Racial Frontier: Zambia and the USA,
1964–68’.
Vladimir Shubin, ‘Unsung Heroes: The Soviet Military and the Liberation of
Southern Africa’.
Nancy Mitchell, ‘Tropes of the Cold War. Jimmy Carter and Rhodesia’.
These above articles first appeared in Cold War History, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2007),
published by Taylor & Francis.
‘Extracts of Piero Gleijeses: From Cassinga to New York, The Struggle for
The Independence of Namibia’ are taken from Piero Gleijeses: ‘Cuba and the
Independence of Namibia’, Cold War History, Vol. 7, No. 2 (2007).
Extracts of Sue Onslow’s chapter, ‘The South African factor in Zimbabwe’s
transition to independence’ are taken from S. Onslow, ‘Noises Off, South Africa
and the Lancaster House Conference 1979–1980’, in the forthcoming Journal of
Southern African Studies Special Issue: Liberation Struggles, Exile and Interna-
tional Solidarity, Vol. 35, No. 2 (June 2009), published by Taylor & Francis.
Every effort has been made to contact copyright holders for their permission
to reprint material in this book. The publishers would be grateful to hear from
any copyright holder who is not here acknowledged and will undertake to rectify
any errors or omissions in future editions of this book.