Africa in the Cold War

In the interwar period (1919–1939), the Africans who fought against colonial rule, such as the Moroccans, were virtually on their own: they received very little help from abroad. This changed after 1945. Henceforth, the backdrop of decolonization was the Cold War. While the colonial empires crumbled, two superpowers jostled for influence in the world. The United States was sympathetic, in principle, to the gradual progression of colonized people toward independence. The onset of the Cold War added a sense of urgency. Washington feared that the metropoles’ intransigence would open the door to Soviet meddling. The Cold War, however, also pushed US policymakers in the opposite direction. US empathy for the colonized faced two constraints that were most significant when their struggle was violent: the colonial powers were America’s allies against the Soviet Union, and Washington insisted that independence movements be free of the Communist virus. Therefore, US policy on decolonization often clashed with its rhetoric. On the other hand, both ideology and realpolitik led the Soviet Union to support those who fought for independence. Not only did Moscow oppose colonialism in principle, but the insurgents were fighting Washington’s friends. At times, however, realpolitik acted as a brake. For example, after the Algerian revolution began in November 1954, the Soviets hesitated for more than two years before sending weapons to the rebels for fear of antagonizing the French government. Soviets and Americans were not the only outside actors on the stage of decolonization. Two small countries deserve pride of place: Cuba, which sent tens of thousands of soldiers to southern Africa, and Sweden, which gave vital economic assistance to African liberation movements. The list of external actors also includes the other Scandinavian countries, Yugoslavia, Moscow’s Eastern European clients, Egypt, and the People’s Republic of China. This bibliographical essay focuses on the Cold War crises in Africa. It will not include, therefore, one of Africa’s greatest human dramas, the Nigerian civil war (1967–1970), because the two superpowers supported the federal government in Lagos.