DEATH OF IDEOLOGICAL MOVEMENTS:

Understanding the extent to which Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the Non-

Aligned Movement were products of the Cold War?

by

William Ofori

Master’s in Political Analysis and Public Policy

1.0 introduction.

The post-war world II, saw the rise of two superpowers on the global stage
and increasingly divergent viewpoints between the United States and the Soviet
Union. This lengthy ideological struggle is what’s later termed the Cold War. It
was a ‘cold’ war because it was a conflict battled within “conditions of peace” and
without absolute physical war between the major actors (Adewunmi & Yakubu,
2019).

Arguably the precise origin and the specific date of when the cold war
started is mired in disagreement. Flaherty (1996) traces and dated its roots to,
long before the end of World War I in 1919. Other researchers such as Lewis
(2013) and Leffler (1992) theorized that the Cold War origin can be placed in the
post-war policies and actions of the Soviet Union and the USA from 1945
forward. Whatever the debate of the origin may be, it's recognized that the
Cuban Missile Crisis was a high point of the Cold War and therefore the “real”
structure of the war was after WW2 (1945). Likewise the originality of the war,
the historiography of the end of the conflict is a topic that has concerned
academics. While some scholars, consider the fall of the Berlin Wall in November
1989 as the end to the Cold War, others strogly argue for the dissolution of the
Warsaw Pact in 1991. Indeed the two events are significant to understand the fall
of the Communist bloc and the end of a bipolar world built by the United States
and the Soviet Union.

The world did not only witness the tensions, the competition, military
alliances, and the succession of confrontations between the Soviet Union and the
United States, but most noticeably the ideological conflict that sought to organize
the economic, political, and social life all over the world. Within this era of history,
movements for ideological and political unity were not uncommon. Some of the
noticeable political movements and regional liberation projects that sought
neutrality or regional harmony were Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the Non-
Aligned Movement. While some of these movements were birth by the War,
others’ structures were extremely influenced by the War. To what degree,
therefore, were these movement products of the Cold War? Any discussion of
Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the Non-Aligned Movement and their
connections to the Cold War calls for a clear delineation, definition of the terms,
and objectives of the movements.

2.0 Understanding the concept of Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the Non-

Aligned Movement.

2.1 The concept of Pan-Africanism

The term Pan Africanism was first coined by Henry Sylvester Williams in
1900 (Eze, 2013). The philosophy and objectives at that time in its narrowest
sense were to seek a unified Africa and the acknowledgment of black identity in
the global space. In addition to the movement being philosophical, it was also a
political movement or organization whose goal was for black liberation,
decolonization, anti-racism, and anti-slavery (Armah, 2008, 2010; Malisa &
Nhengeze, 2018). Over different historical periods, the idea evolved, nonetheless
the concentration on the oneness of Africa stayed unswerving. The central idea of
Pan-Africanism was that all people of African heritage had similar experiences,
had shared social and cultural ties, regardless of their location in the world. The
movement was actively championed by the likes of W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame
Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, and Nyerere (Malisa &
Nhengeze, 2018)

2.2 The concept of pan-Arabism

Pan-Arabism was a political and ideological movement that emerged in the later
years of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It simply advocated the political,
cultural, and socioeconomic harmony of Arabs nations. This ideology was
strappingly influenced by the ideas of Sati' al‐Husri (1879–1968). Sati al-Husri
argued that Arabs had “one heart and a common soul”, spoke a ‘unitary
language’, and therefore ‘constituted one nation’ and should ‘have a unified
state’ (Dawisha, 2003: 2). Though the ideology was prevalent during the Ottoman
empire's rule over the Arab territories, it only reached its political acme in the
1950s to 70s, championed by Gamal Abdel NASSER of Egypt (Maiolo et. al, 2003;
Groves,2007; Sawani,2012). Arab nationalism or pan-Arabism was desirable in
that it aimed at complementing the existing cultural unity in the Arab world, with
political unity.

2.3 Concept of the Non-Aligned Movement

In the setting of the globalized competition between Soviet-style
Communism and Western liberalism, the Non-Aligned movement was created.
Initially, the concept originated in 1955 at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference
held in Indonesia. Officially, at the First NAM Summit Conference was held in June
1961 in Egypt, the movement was established. Members of the organization
sought to remain independent or neutral and not align themselves with either the
United States or the Soviet Union. The objectives were to deescalate the tensions
of the Cold War and for greater attention to be paid to underdevelopment. The
movement was to give a collective voice in international relations and the
eradication of imperialism.

3.0 Understanding the extent to which Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the

Non-Aligned Movement were products of the Cold War.
Firstly we understand from the definition that if an idea is the product of a
particular situation or process, then that idea is the “result’ of that situation or
process (Merriam-Webster's Dictionary, 1999). The questions to ask in this
section of the discussion, therefore, are: did the cold war birth or lead to the
formation of Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, and the Non-Aligned Movement? To
what extent did the cold war influence the structures or operations?

To commence with pan-Africanism, Africa, like the other continents, was

subjected to the influence of the Cold War. Maiolo et. al, ( 2003) observed that
newly independent Africa states and their leaders were challenged by choosing
between Soviet-style communism or Western capitalism. the goal in the 1950s
was geared towards a borderless Africa, that is the casting aside “the artificial
state boundaries” established by their colonial masters and moving towards a
federal form of government (Maiolo et. al, 2003).

Although there is the recognition of the significance of those historical

experiences and influences that occurred during the cold war, the historical
account of the idea dates back to 1787 during the abolitionist movements and
freed slaves in the Americas (Malisa & Nhengeze, 2018). Moreover, the first Pan
African conference in 1900 was followed by the second and third Pan-African
Congresses in 1921 and 1923 respectively. The fourth Pan African Congress was in
1927 in New York. All the congresses pre-dated the start of the Cold War and so
before the Cold war, the pan African movement had had already taken shape.

Secondly, the recurring subjects in these conferences were the liberation of

Africans from colonialism, racism, and the quest for self-governance, and a
recognition of peoples of African origins as equal citizens of the world. Was pan-
Africanism an ideological movement? Certainly yes. Was it an ideology against or
for capitalism, and communism? Certainly no. For instance, Maiolo et. al, ( 2003)
is quoted as:

Nkrumah and Nyerere were keen to introduce socialist-style planning for

economic development, they were far from being orthodox Marxist-
Leninists. Their ideas reflected instead what was loosely described as
`African socialism', which held little appeal to the ideologues in the Kremlin
(Maiolo et. al, 2003. p).

This demonstrates that even independent African states, who had to choose the
form of government, still chose what they considered pan-African.

Next, is the influence of the cold war on Pan Arabism. The nationalistic
desire for independence directly or indirectly drew the Cold War into the Arab
world (Halliday, 2005). The Cold War gave the political feature of the Pan Arabism
movement. This is because firstly, the political rivalry in the Arab World all
occurred in the broader part of the Cold War. Secondly, as established, though
the idea existed in the late 19 th century it was more philosophical than political.
The formation of the Arab League during the cold war era, gave the movement a
corporeal structure to strengthen and organize the economic, political, and social
agenda of the Arab nations. (Gökçel & Lungu, 2011; Groves (2007)
 Furthermore, the cold war influenced the creation of the welcoming Middle
East- soviet alliance. Halliday, (2005) argued that as a political movement, pan-
Arabism was resistant to colonialism and any form of Western imperialism,
therefore from 1955, the USSR was able to launch itself as a key ally with Arab
nationalist regimes like Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Libya and South Yemen (Halliday, 2005:
99).

On like pan Africanis mand pan Arabism, the Non-Aligned Movement

(NAM) was the product of the cold war. Quote the writing of Luthi

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was a product of the Cold War. Without
the political division of Europe and East Asia between the two superpowers
and their respective smaller allies in the 1950s, the NAM would not have
found its place in international relations. (Luthi, 2017. p1)

The non-aligned movement to the utmost extent was a product of the Cold war.
In that, without the ideological battle between the two superpowers, the
movement would have been inexistent.

4.0 conclusion
In conclusion, the discussion has shown that Pan-Africanism was influenced
by the cold war in the 1950s, however, to a lesser extent was it a product of the
cold war. In that, as at the start of the cold war, the movement and its structures
had already taken shape. To state categorically, four different Pan African
conferences had been held in 1900,1921, 1923, 1927 respectively and all these
congresses predated the start of the Cold War. Additionally, the ideology of the
movement was not to choose between Soviet-style communism or Western-style
democracy but rather the bout against colonialization, racism, neo-
colonialization, and oppression of the black race.

Pan-Arabism was influenced by the cold war in the 1950s, to a larger

extent, however, the cold war did not produce or birth the ideology. Arab
nationalism was founded on language, culture, and the economy and therefore
could not have been a direct product. It had its proper shape and structure during
the cold war. In that, as at the start of the cold war, the movement and its
structure had already taken shape.

Unlike pan-Africanism and pan-Arabism, the Non-Aligned Movement was

born or emerged out of the Cold war. Indeed, the arterial motive of the
conference held in Belgrade in 1961 was to create a movement that sought to
lower the tensions of the Cold War. Members of this movement opted to remain
neutral by not taking a side on Capitalism and Communism. In short, the Non-
Aligned Movement would not have found its place in international relations if not
for the Bipolar nature of the world created by the cold world.