The Cold War

1. The Cold War What was Africa’s role in the Cold War? How did American attitudes toward Africa change in the Cold War period?

2. Neo-colonialism • It can be argued many African nations were pawns on the cold war chessboard – victims of neo-colonialism by US, USSR and PRC • Explains Africa’s centrality to the Cold War conflict. • Focus on Africa’s role for the US during the Cold War.

3. US involvement: Cultural Diplomacy Defining cultural diplomacy? • ‘the use of culture and cultural tools by governments for the purpose of influencing and conducting foreign relations in a positive manner between peoples and nations’. Provided by Karen Bell. • US sought to establish ‘community’ with other nations by projecting its national identity • National ideals such as democracy, free enterprise, and freedom • Emily Rosenberg argues in Spreading the American Dream, the US ‘inaugurated policies to protect expand and preserve American values.

4. USIA and USIS formed to conduct cultural diplomacy abroad from 1953. • US concerned with influencing ‘promising and receptive’ independent African countries. • Global bi-polar conflict of period presented unique conditions for new born nations ...

5. By 1960 economic assistance to Africa was $473.2 million. • Provided a channel for American values, institutions, people and ideas. • 3 main objectives • Race relations • Dissemination of information • Contain communism

6. Initiatives • Voice of America (VOA) • Printed propaganda. Publicationssuch as, Topic, American Outlook and American perspectives. • English Language Teaching Program • Country Team – African Americans such as Louis Armstrong.

7. Success or failure? • 1961 – The mutual educational and cultural exchange act. • Karen Bell argues ‘failed to prevent the deepening of the Cold War in Africa... But was effective in promoting foreign awareness and knowledge of American society, culture and values.’ • Tordoff, argues ‘Socialism was a loose concept in Africa and subject to varying interpretations’ • Lumumba – Congo

8. President Eisenhower greets prime minister Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana at white house 1958.

9. President of Republic of Guinea and wife visiting white house in 1959 with President Eisenhower and his wife.

10. The Cold War and South Africa • Battle of ideologies; USSR supported groups such as ANC and SWAPO, US supported the government of S.A to balance out Russian efforts. • Easy to place the blame, but the Cold War brought Western attention to other problematic regimes such as Ethiopia – to which France leant support initially. Why is US scrutinised especially? • Dependency theory?

11. The end of the Cold War : interest in Africa – purely ideological? • ‘HAVING been carved up and colonized by European powers and turned into pawns, knights and rooks on a cold war chessboard by the superpowers, Africa now faces a devastating new problem: indifference.’ • MargeriteMichaels, council of foreign relations, disintegration of USSR ‘set America free to pursue its own interests in Africa—and it found that it did not have any.’New York Times Article, 7th March, 1993. • Dependency theory? Filtering of natural resources of a peripheral country to countries at the centre of the global economic system. Is this a continuing burden and legacy left for Africa in the wake of the Cold War.