Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and Africa : : New Perspectives on the Era of Decolonization, 1950s to 1990s / / ed. by Chris Saunders, Helder Adegar Fonseca, Lena Dallywater.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter DG Plus DeG Package 2023 Part 1
• HerausgeberIn: Adegar Fonseca, Helder ,; Dallywater, Lena,; Saunders, Chris,
• MitwirkendeR: Dallywater, Lena,; Engel, Ulf,; Fonseca, Helder Adegar,; Grilli, Matteo,; Luque, Alba Martín,; Mazov, Sergey V,; Menclová, Barbora,; Moledo, Ana,; Möser, Robin E.,; Radonjić, Nemanja,; Ribeiro, João Fusco,; Saunders, Chris,; Voevodskiy, Alexandr,; Yordanov, Radoslav,
• Place / Publishing House: München ;, Wien : : De Gruyter Oldenbourg, , [2023]; ©2023
• Year of Publication: 2023
• Language: English
• Series: Dialectics of the Global , 15
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (VI, 372 p.)

It is now widely recognised that a Cold War perspective falls short in unfolding the complex geographies of connections and the multipolarity of actions and transactions that were shaped through the movement of individuals and ideas from Africa to the "East" and from the "East" to Africa in the decades in which African countries moved to independence. Adopting an interdisciplinary, transregional perspective, this volume casts new light on aspects of the role of Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union in the decolonisation of Africa. Taking further themes explored in a collection of essays published by the editors in 2019, the twelve case studies by authors from South Africa, Czech Republic, Portugal, Russia, Hungary, Italy, Canada, Serbia, and Germany draw on new sources to explore the history of the ties that existed between African liberation movements and the socialist bloc, some of which continue to influence relationships today. Chapters contribute to three relevant main themes that resonate in a number of scholarly fields of inquiry, ranging from Global Studies, Transregional Studies, Cold War Studies, (Global) History to African Studies, Eastern European, Russian and Slavic Studies: Reconsiderations, Resources, and Reverberations. Drawing upon newly opened archives and combining transregional perspectives with sources in different languages, chapters explicitly point out the shortcomings of past research and debates in the respective field. They highlight new avenues which have been developing and which need to be further developed (Reconsiderations). Selected case studies address the resources of those being active and involved in decolonisation processes, be it in East, North, West and South. They reveal: Which resources (both material and intellectual) are the actors drawing upon? On the other hand: From which resources are individuals on one side or the other reciprocally or intermittently (intentionally) kept away? (Resources). Finally, the third theme puts an emphasis on the historicity of the processes depicted. Studies point to the gaps and dead ends of international support, the paths that peter out, but also to repercussions and reverberations up until today. (Reverberations) Taken these three themes together, the individual chapters contribute to the overall question of: Which general historical narratives about the second half of the 20th century are changing based on these new research findings?

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- On the Series -- Contents -- 1 Introduction -- Part I: Lusophone Connections -- Introduction -- 2 Choosing Eastern Partners: The First Phase of the “Angolan Revolution” (1960–1964) -- 3 UNITA, China, and the Soviet Bloc: Rivalries, Constraints, and Cooperation (1964–1974) -- 4 The Quest for the Solidarity of the World’s Working Class: Luso-African Liberation Movements and the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) during the 1960s and early 1970s -- 5 “We Have Made History”: Yugoslav Visual Solidarity with FRELIMO’s Struggle (1967–1975) -- 6 Czechoslovak Experts in Independent Angola -- Part II: Southern African Entanglements -- Introduction -- 7 The Sino-Soviet Split and Soviet Policy towards Southern African Liberation Movements in the early 1960s -- 8 Between Socialism and Non-Alignment: The Basutoland Congress Party and the Soviet Bloc -- 9 Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Ending of Apartheid in Southern Africa Reconsidered -- 10 Soviet Diplomats and Apartheid: South Africa’s Accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons -- Part III: Euro-African Complexities -- Introduction -- 11 Anti-Colonial Constellations: The Belgrade All-African Students Conference of 1962 -- 12 The Soviet Union and the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970): Military and Technical Cooperation with the Federal Military Government of Nigeria -- 13 The Warsaw Pact and Libya: Economic, Political, and Military Relations, 1969–1989 -- 14 Shadows of the Past? Some South African and Ethiopian Legacies -- List of Abbreviations -- List of Contributors -- Index