Hungary’s Pragmatic Diplomacy in the Age of Détente: The Case of the African Opening between 1956 and 1970

Abstract Following the change of the political systems that swept across the former Soviet Bloc region toward the end of the 1980s, it was obvious for the ex ‑satellite states that they would direct the major (re)orientation in their foreign policies towards the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. Since the 2010s, every country of the ex ‑Communist Bloc, including the Russian Federation itself, has fostered pragmatic foreign policies with African regions and states. To be able to understand present ‑day Hungary’s recently enhanced engagements with the African continent, as well as making sense of its governmental ‘Africa Strategy’ of April 2019, this paper proposes to offer a general and historical analysis of changing geopolitical landscapes and foreign policies – towards Africa in the Age of Détente, between 1956 and 1970.