SHORT SUMMARY

Module: HIS 3244: Africa and the World

Dr. HS Tshamano

THEME 1. DECOLONIZATION: AFRICA AND THE FORMER COLONIAL

POWERS, POST-INDEPENDENCE RELATIONS

• Decolonization is defined by some as the undoing of colonialism i.e. the achievement

of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa
following WWII
- Others define it as a political process, frequently involving violence, and in
extreme circumstances, there’s a war of independence, sometimes following a
revolution
- It may involve peaceful negotiation and/or violent revolt and armed struggle by
the native population
- The process is only complete when the de facto government of the newly
independent country is recognized as the de jure sovereign state by the community
of nations (UN)
• Causes of decolonization:
- This movement followed the end of WWI with the formation of the League of
Nations
- Under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League, several mandates were created in
order to prepare these countries for self-government.
- Some colonial powers have promoted decolonization in order to shed the
financial, military and other burdens that led to grow in these colonies
- Some colonized populations, such as Gibraltar and French Guiana, have chosen to
retain their colonial statuses
- In many instances, a degree of continuity is maintained through bilateral treaties
between now equal governments on things such as military training, mutual
protection pacts, or even a garrison and/ or military bases, even after the
recognition of statehood.
• Relationship between Africa and the former colonial masters
- Relations between newly independent African states and their former colonial
powers remained close and generally cordial despite the conflicts that
accompanied transition to independence
- Though most African states have decided to diversify their external relations, their
former colonial overlords continue to reflect a “special” character
- These relations manifest themselves politically in various ways e.g:
(i) In the form of regular processes of diplomatic consultations; (ii) in the
existence of formal institutions that facilitate multilateral diplomatic
 exchanges, for example, the British Commonwealth of Nations and the
Francophone grouping of states
(ii) In some instances, in formal agreements whereby the former colonial
powers are granted executive concessions in Africa such as, military
agreements wherein former colonial powers were granted military bases or
permission to station its military personnel on the territory of an African
state.
(iii) Agreements were also agreed in matters such as cultural exchanges,
immigration and citizenship e.g. in British East Africa thousands of
resident Asians and whites were, by mutual agreement, permitted to retain
their British nationality at independence
-when Idi Amin of Uganda forcibly expelled from Uganda all Asians
(British citizens and non-citizens), the British wished them to be resettled
somewhere and not in Britain itself-a clear indication that the agreement
on citizenship between Britain and East African states was just a symbol of
the spirit of mutual understanding and solidarity between Britain and its
former colonies.

• Variation in this kind of relationship

- Some African states are more heavily dependent on their former colonial powers
than others e.g. former French colonies have remained linked to France by tighter
institutional agreements than those previously ruled by other European powers
- Majority have direct military agreements with France as part of the independence
bargain, including technical and financial agreements e.g. the French government
introduced two multilateral central banks in West and Equatorial Africa (the
Banque Centrale de Etats de I’Afrique de I’ouest- grouping Senegal, Ivory Coast,
Upper Volta, Dahomey, now Benin, Niger and Mauritania, and the Banque…(see
J.C Ojo “African International Relations, p.110)
- They created a uniform currency tied to the French franc
- Each of the country maintains a separate account with the French treasury for
purposes of its international transactions, including the financing of its trade
- This gives France a huge influence in determining the monetary, financial and
general economic policies and relations of the African states grouped under these
banks (neo-colonialism at its best-no wonder Africa is so impoverished)
- Another tie is based on the French private investment, aid, trade and technical and
cultural exchanges involving the former colonies (the effect of total assimilation)

• Why African states preserved this connection?

o The socialization of African elites during colonialism
-leaders formally and informally schooled under colonialism evince a ‘love-
hate ‘attitude towards former colonizers
-institutional networks, either inherited from the colonial era or established as
part of the independence bargain, tend to persist over time despite being
officially declared illegitimate.
-bureaucratic mechanisms and procedures based on British and French models
persist long after independence has been gained e.g. armies continue to be
commanded by officers trained at Sandhurst or St Cyr.
-the colonizer’s language being used as a form of international and national
communication- the same language facilitates communication with the former
colonial power, posing many political, diplomatic and cultural implications
 -high-level manpower tends to be trained in the former metropolis because
educational systems are at least comparable and sometimes identical
-students educated in these languages naturally should reflect the cultural
attributes or modes of thought of the society within which they obtain their
education- this attributable to the process of acculturation which occurs
precisely because an educational system, like any societal enterprise, is itself a
profoundly cultural phenomenon that is specific to a given nation
-former Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor, was seen as more
French than the French themselves- he, together with Ivory Coast’s President,
Felix Houphouet-Boigny have praised France and regarded it as a major
partner in both cultural and economic matters- Negritude or no Negritude,
Senghor has called for the establishment of a unity between Europe and
Africa, beyond that, a federation of cultures of the various peoples of the
world.

• The dynamics of social class

- This argument revolves around the variables of social structure, different class
interests and class conflicts that characterizes Africa’s past-independence societies
- African states have emerged into independence under the leadership of petit
bourgeoise whose interests were similar with those of metropolitan/imperialist
bourgeoisie
- These interests were mostly at odds with those of the common or ordinary people
in the former colonies
- To maintain its power and privileges, these bourgeoisie resorted to tactics such as
the use of coercion and a political ploy defined as a form of ‘defensive
radicalism’, as popularized by Professor Claude Ake, who defined it as
mystification whereby African rulers seek to blunt the revolutionary pressures of
the masses by the adoption of a radical rhetoric which masks the true intent and
orientation of the bourgeoisie
- Only a handful of African states had leadership which took its radical rhetoric
seriously and took steps to achieve socialism e.g. Angola and Guinea-Bissau
- Ake further argues that in defensive radicalism, leaders must show that they are on
the side of the masses if they want to stay in power- they must translate some of
the rhetoric into action, therefore, rendering defensive radicalism a progressive
phenomenon
- Ake and others argue that African elites constitute local allies of imperialism and
of the international bourgeoisie that runs the capitalist economy
- This means that the closeness of relations between African states and their former
capitalist colonizers is to be explained at the level of the social dynamics that have
their roots in the global capitalist system
- Chinweizu argues that the freedom these leaders sought had to be freedom within
the imperial system, not outside it; not individual freedom within African societies
liberated from the empires- they desired British or French liberties, and not
African liberties
- This class analysis, clearly reflects a considerable part of the reality of internal
politics and international relationships of African states but it is by no means a
definitive analysis
- The negative side of this analysis s that it puts African regimes in the same basket,
which is not the case e.g. Algeria’s degree of dependence on France cannot be the
same as that of Gabon, even though both were French colonies and rich in oil
 - Kenya and Tanzania, both Commonwealth and former British colonies have
pursued significantly different policies towards Britain
- It becomes difficult to explain why some states take their ‘defensive radicalism’
more seriously than others, even though they are all under the rule of the petit
bourgeoisie
- It reflects calculations of national interests on the part of both sets of parties to
these relations
- African states have been colonized by one or the other of European powers- they
exploited the possibilities inherent in the previously inherent colonial relations
which African states seek to translate into co-operative arrangements.

• Other factors that success depended on included:

- The nature of the independent bargain or the structure of relations between the
given African state and its former colonizers
- The degree of ‘acculturation’ of the African ruling elite
- The nature of the issues that form the subject of such co-operation
- The bargaining capabilities and advantages of the African states, individually or
collectively versus the former colonizers

• The unity of approach by African states as part of the African states as part of the
African-African-Pacific (ACP) grouping of states, made them successful in winning
trade and aid concessions from the European Economic Community (EEC) than
would have otherwise been possible.
- Under the Lome II (01 April 1980), which was to govern experience relations for
5 years between ACP and EEC states that ACP member states enjoyed free access
to EEC market
• Negatives of ACP-EEC relations:
- ACP members are worried about issues pertaining to trade, aid, investment and
technology transfers, and the pace of industrialization in the ACP states
- They were not satisfied with the issue relating to ACP goods’ free access to
European markets, which had seen no significant advance made
- ACP countries exported low-priced primary commodities and European countries
exported highly-priced manufactured goods
- ACP exports of textiles to the community markets constituted only 1.8% of the
community imports, while South-East Asia, e.g. exported up to 25%, but
Mauritius, an ACP state, was forced to reduce its exports to the EEC by 50%
- Apart from ACP-EEC framework African states have also sought assistance from
the Commonwealth, Francophone and Lusophone-African communities
- Bilateral relations between individual African states and the former colonial
powers still features in many external relations of these states
• Disadvantages of these relations involved structural
- The parties, in terms of international laws, should be equal, but practice points to
real inequality
- African states, as suppliants, cannot, e.g. dictate such matters as the volume, terms
or conditions under which they receive international assistance, nor can the dictate
the prices of their export commodities.

THEME 2. DECOLONIZATION AND THE COLD WAR: AFRICA AND THE

SUPERPOWERS
Relations between African states and the superpowers (USA & USSR)
• Def. of Cold War
• Relations was primarily guided by national interest
• African states judge the policies of the superpowers by the degree to which they
advance or harm their own perceived interests
• USA & USSR are called superpowers because of their ability to main international
peace and order anywhere in the world
• They both emerged as the most powerful after the WWII
• The two seek to spread their influence beyond their borders
• USSR was the latest arrival on the African political scene
• USSR demanded the right to control Libya, Masawa and Eritrea during the early
1960s but failed
• USA succeeded by entering into a military agreement with Liberia
• In 1949 USA signed military and nuclear agreement with SA and acquired military
bases in Libya, Morocco and build a military communication facility in Ethiopia by
mid 1950s
• Growing interactions and exchanges led into the collapse of colonialism in Africa

Why independent African States have Diplomatic Relations with the Superpowers?

(i) US and Soviet Economic Assistance

• African governments are responsible for ensuring the security and well-being of their
citizens but lacked the required resources to fulfil that
• USA & USSR have surplus resources of capital, technology and skilled manpower
that is not found in Africa
• Africans relied on aid as compared to commercial banks
• Loans from WB, IMF, IDA carries low interest rate and allow for a longer period of
grace than commercial banks
• Africans also hoped to find markets for their products in the US & Soviet
• Both US & Soviet responded positively on economic assistance
• The Soviet assisted African states between 1955 & 1977 with Egypt the single largest
recipient of more than 40% of Soviet economic aid
• The USA’s assistance mostly went on the development of infrastructure such as
roads, railways, electric power plants, hospitals & schools
• Trade wise, the USSR provided better concessions, but African states failed to take
advantage of that
• Radical regimes such as Egypt, Ghana and Guinea looked to Soviet for aid but many
of these alliances were marriages of convenience eg. Egypt kicked the Soviet for
failing to support their plans for the 1973 Arab Israeli War
• Somalia chased away the Soviet for failing to support their desire for Greater Somalia
• Numeiry of Sudan accused the Soviet of supporting the coup plotters in 1977 and
kicked them out

Strain relations between the Soviet and African states resulted from:
• Differences in understanding what socialism is
• Cultural, economic & political ties between the Soviet & Africa are very recent e.g
African political and economic institutions and organisations are based on western
models (official languages are European ones)
 • The Soviet’s currency is non-convertible thus preventing it from penetrating Africa

• The west had been successful in commercial penetration of Africa, thus integrating
Africa into capitalist world economy
• All African states except Egypt and SA had to import all their military requirements
• Superpowers also provide Africans with technical personnel, training facilities &
logistical support eg. During the 1975-76 civil war in Angola the Soviet trained
Angolan forces
• Superpowers also maintained unpopular governments in power eg. In 1977-78 the
US, France and Belgium protected the Mobutu regime of Zaire
• Aid prevented Africans from focusing on domestic investment, leading to economic
underdevelopment
• Dependence on foreign aid make African rulers vulnerable to blackmail

(ii) Superpower Interest in Africa

• Superpower help African states in pursuit of their own interests eg. Mobutu was
supported because he was an anti-communist and a protector of massive western
investment
• Foreign aid was used as a device for gaining influence
• The Soviet and the US give aid to win client states- after decolonization left a vacuum
• For economic and strategic interests, with the Soviet less fortunate
• US depend on Africa for strategic minerals
• Africa’s geographical location- surrounded by international waterways eg. SA, West
& East
• The Soviet failed to acquire naval bases in Africa until 1977 when Somalia granted
them a naval base at Berbera.

THEME 3. FROM THE OAU TO THE AFRICAN UNION (AU): THE CHANGING
(ED) APPROACH?

• The idea would be to see whether those principles were still relevant or irrelevant
after total decolonization
• Africa remained a supplier of primary material

Principles to be considered:

3.1. Affirmation of non-alignment

• Two power blocs existed: the capitalist and the communist blocs
• Developing world had to deal with this arrogance and agreed to adopt the notion of
non-alignment
• Resolving conflicts was difficult because some African countries were still under the
influence of their colonizers

3.2. Non-interference in the internal affairs of other states

• Illegal involvement of one or more states in the domestic affairs of another, without
permission from the OAU
 • Africa experienced immoral practices but unable to act e.g. In Angola

3.3. Sovereignty and territorial integrity of each state

• Neo-colonialism prevented sovereignty and colonial integrity to be realized
• Some countries adopted one-party while others experienced military coups
• This compromised sustainable development

3.4. Peaceful settlement of disputes

• Conflict characterized by a combination of internal and international conflicts
• Military coups were experienced
• The OAU used article xix which only committed all member states to settle their
disputes by peaceful means

3.5. Eradication of all forms of colonialism and the promotion of international cooperation in
Africa
• Both concerned about decolonization
• The decolonization rendered this principle irrelevant
• African leaders had to reposition themselves and redefine their goals

THEME 4. FOREIGN MILITARY INTERVENTION IN AFRICA

• Has something to do with ongoing imperialism

4.1. Decolonization and colonial legacies

• Discovery of Africa by Europeans brought with it, foreign intervention in Africa
• Latest intervention is that of military action
• WWII badly affected France and Britain and the two created a vacuum to be filled by
the US
• France and Britain relinquished their control
• When the Portuguese left Angola and Mozambique SA tried to destabilize the two
countries
• Competition between east and west forced western powers to engage into co-
operative imperialism amongst themselves and competitive imperialism with the
Eastern bloc
• African leaders whose integrity are challenged seek assistance from foreign powers

4.2. Colonial linkages and the structure of intervention

• Western analysts regard intervention as any involvement by China, Cuba and USSR
and not by western countries
• Western intervention is viewed as an attempt to maintain law and order, political
stability, peaceful change and economic growth
• The west had already created their own zones
• The French regard African affairs in Francophone countries as “family affairs”
• This gives them a license to intervene militarily in any Francophone country

4.3. American intervention in African

• US involvement is understood in terms of superpower global obligations, usually self-
imposed
• Where West Europeans influence declines, the US power moves in to fill the vacuum
 • Reason: to contain communism or make the world safe for democracy
• Direct US involvement in Africa began in 1958
• The US and SA have been behind the financing of most mercenary operations
• Reagan’s administration conducted bombing raids in Libya in January and April 1986
• He approached Egypt to declare a proxy war against Gaddafi, but the Egyptian
President refused in January 1986
• Had Reagan had his way, 2 African countries would have gone to war at US’
instigation with no Africa’s national interest being at stake.

THEME 5. THE UNITED STATES POLICY IN AFRICA: BILATERAL

COMMISSIONS: US-SA

• US policies reflected a desire to reconcile conflicting interests in South Africa and the
region
• Its policy was highly influenced by the Cold War

5.1. Arms embargoes

• US relied on arms embargoes to pressurize the SA govern to change its domestic
policies
• It supported UN Resolution 181 but relaxed its stance until 1976 during the Soweto
uprising
• Although it was part of all these embargoes it failed to implement them by authorizing
the sale of aircraft and computers to SA military

5.2. Nuclear collaboration

• In 1957 they signed an Agreement for Cooperation concerning civil uses of Atomic
Energy
• They also allowed SA to purchase US-designed research reactor- SAFARI-1
• IN 1977 Soviet satellites detected that SA possessed a nuclear bomb
• This was confirmed by the US Defense Intelligence Agency

5.3. Economic sanctions

• USA wanted to preserve access to SA’s mineral resources
• They opposed economic sanctions on SA by vetoing UN resolutions

5.4. Regional conflict

• SA was viewed as a lone ally of US in the region
• Every UN resolution pertaining Southern Africa from 1972 was voted against by the
US.