|
Showing 1 - 2 of
2 matches in All Departments
In the global context of the Cold War, the relationship between
liberation movements and Eastern European states obviously changed
and transformed. Similarly, forms of (material) aid and
(ideological) encouragement underwent changes over time. The
articles assembled in this volume argue that the traditional Cold
War geography of bi-polar competition with the United States is not
sufficient to fully grasp these transformations. The question of
which side of the ideological divide was more successful (or lucky)
in impacting actors and societies in the global south is still
relevant, yet the Cold War perspective falls short in unfolding the
complex geographies of connections and the multipolarity of actions
and transactions that exists until today. Acknowledging the
complexities of liberation movements in globalization processes,
the papers thus argue that activities need to be understood in
their local context, including personal agendas and internal
conflicts, rather than relying primarily on the traditional frame
of Cold War competition. They point to the agency of individual
activists in both "Africa" and "Eastern Europe" and the lessons,
practices and languages that were derived from their often
contradictory encounters. In Southern African Liberation Movements,
authors from South Africa, Portugal, Austria and Germany ask: What
role did actors in both Southern Africa and Eastern Europe play?
What can we learn by looking at biographies in a time of increasing
racial and international conflict? And which "creative solutions"
need to be found, to combine efforts of actors from various
ideological camps? Building on archival sources from various
regions in different languages, case studies presented in the
edition try to encounter the lack of a coherent state of the art.
They aim at combining the sometimes scarce sources with qualitative
interviews to give answers to the many open questions regarding
Southern African liberation movements and their connections to the
"East".
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?
|
|