Call for papers
Working Expert Seminar
01 | Dezembro | 2008
Lisbon (May 2009)

Working Expert Seminar: «Southern Africa in the Cold War Era»

Lisbon, 8-9 May 2009

Organization: Cold War Studies Centre/IDEAS, London School of Economics and Portuguese Institute for International Relations (IPRI-UNL).

Decolonisation was the most important dynamic of change in Southern Africa in the latter half of the twentieth century. The growing historiography of the intersection of the Cold War and European decolonisation in Southern Africa, and the associated African nationalist regional liberation struggle, has benefited immeasurably from recent multi-archival research. This has enabled a more nuanced understanding of the complexities of the impact of ideology, and the role of external actors and agencies, upon white minority regimes and African nationalist movements. This has highlighted the importance of addressing the direct and insidious influences of the Cold War global environment upon the pace and means of this process, which has had lasting implications for transitions to independence and subsequent state stability.

This seminar will bring together both established and new scholars in the field of Southern African studies in the 1970s and 1980s – an era in which the sub-continent became a cauldron of the Cold War. Drawing upon individual current research projects, it will address Portuguese/British relations over the long-running Rhodesian UDI crisis; the Angolan civil war; the Namibian independence struggle; Soviet, American and South African involvement in the regional liberation wars; as well as the Cuban agenda and contribution to the anti-imperialist struggle on the African continent. We are looking for papers on other aspects of the Cold War in Southern Africa in the 1970s, addressing both structure and agency. Topics might include:

intelligence/military operational studies

propaganda and media manipulation

the role of multinational corporations and NGOs

non-alignment

migrations and the diaspora

gender studies (the role and impact of armed struggle)

the role of leadership

religion and liberation movements

mobilization and organisation

the role of white minorities/settler communities (in the context of Portuguese decolonisation in Angola and Mozambique)

Papers from post-graduate researchers are particularly welcome. Please send abstracts of proposals (250-300 words) to Dr Sue Onslow (Este endereço de email está protegido contra piratas. Necessita ativar o JavaScript para o visualizar.) by 1 December 2008.

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Call for papers