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How did the Cold War impact Africa?
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The Cold War affected East Africa because the ongoing rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union led to the involvement of both countries in the area in terms of influence (attempts to gain allies and set up their own political ideas) and proxy wars supported by the superpowers.
As both the United States and the Soviet Union were nuclear powers, direct confrontation between the two superpowers was impossible, not to say unthinkable. So both sides used proxies in the developing world to help advance their respective geopolitical objectives. The continent of Africa, like Asia, became a Cold War battleground. The economic weakness of Africa made it especially vulnerable to overtures from both Americans and Russians alike as they sought to gain a strategic foothold in the continent. The main area of interest for successive American governments was North Africa, due to its proximity to the Middle-East and the vital oil supply routes so important to the US economy. Yet the Soviets checked US interests in Egypt, for example, using the Arab nationalism of Nasser as a way of gaining influence in the region.
The Soviets' approach to Egypt was indicative of a wider strategy. The USSR set itself...
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up as an ally of subject African peoples in their struggle against Western colonialism. Communism—in theory, at least—was a natural partner with anti-colonialism on account of its liberationist ideology. The growing desire of many Africans to throw off the yoke of colonial oppression could comfortably be reconciled with Marxistrhetoric about emancipation of the workers from capitalist domination and control. The Soviets aggressively exploited this rhetoric to the full in their dealings with a number of African governments, rebels, and independence movements.
Yet aside from the high-flown revolutionary slogans, the Soviet Union was also motivated by economic interests in its dealings with Africa. Angola, for instance, became an especially volatile theater of conflict in the Cold War, opening a new front in the struggle between East and West. As the country was rich in oil it inevitably attracted the attention of both sides. The United States supported rebel movements such as UNITA against the Marxist MPLA, which was backed by the Soviets. The ensuing Angolan Civil War lasted a staggering 27 years before the MPLA finally prevailed. But the conflict took an incredible toll of death and destruction on the country, undoubtedly exacerbated by the constant flow of arms and cash supplied by both the Americans and the Soviets.
There's often a fine line between assistance and exploitation, especially in the conduct of an overtly ideological conflict like the Cold War. Whatever the respective motivations of the United States and the Soviet Union may have been, there's little doubt that self-interest played a major part, and that both sides saw in a continent moving away from its colonial past a great opportunity to open up virgin territory and make their mark.
How did the Cold War affect East Africa?
The Cold War turned East Africa into a battleground both figuratively and literally, for it was the site of sharp competition for influence between the US and the Soviet Union as well as the site of many proxy wars (wars fought by other countries with the combatants backed by the US and the Soviet Union).
As the rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union (and between their respective political systems) grew throughout the Cold War period, each country sought to gain influence over other, smaller, less powerful countries. If they could install rulers in these countries with a political philosophy that matched their own, they could develop important allies throughout the world. East Africa did not escape this attempt. At this point, many African countries were fighting for their independence after generations of colonization, and the US and Soviet Union were quick to step up with financial aid, weapons, political advice, and their own candidates for an independent government. The two superpowers thereby pitted factions against each other in developing countries, each hoping to come out on top.
In Somalia, for instance, the Soviet-supported General Mohamed Siad Barre came to power and established a communist government (with Soviet funding, of course). In Ethiopia, Emperor Haile Selassie was overthrown by a communist regime as well.
Often, in the midst of all this political competition, actual fighting broke out as the Soviet- and US-backed factions descended into proxy wars. Often, the superpowers actually supported the combatants with troops, weapons, money, or some combination thereof. Other times, though, one superpower, usually the US, decided not to intervene in a conflict even though this, too, was a political statement. In Somalia, Barre ended up fighting against Ethiopia, and the Soviets decided to support the latter. Barre called on the US for support, renouncing his ties to the Soviets. The US provided some money but did not send military support, and the Somalis lost what came to be known as the Ogaden War.
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