two main liberation movements: the communist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA).

Angola, like most African nations, had been crudely carved out of Africa in 1884 by the Berlin Conference. This colonization occurred without care for the region’s demographics. Boundaries were drawn without knowledge or concern for ethnic, religious, or language groups. Thus, warring tribes were often combined within political boundaries, villages were ripped in half, and relatives were separated from one another. Portugal’s main goal in colonizing the area was to create networks for the commercial slave trade.

As in many African nations after World War II, Angola was now free to create their own government system. However, the withdrawal of Portugal now created a power vacuum. Who was going to take power? This conflict, like the Civil War in Ethiopia, was marked by both violent domestic turmoil and much international involvement.

Quickly, the world's two main superpowers took sides, creating a Cold War proxy war. The USSR supported the MPLA, while the US lent support to UNITA. Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Yugoslavia’s Josip Broz Tito also lent support to MPLA. President Tito notably provided over 14 million dollars to the organization in 1977 and sent security personnel into the country.

In 2002, the MPLA was victorious, and The People’s Republic of Angola was declared a socialist state. The war left over 50,000 dead and a complete destruction of the nation’s infrastructure. Today, Angola lacks skilled labor, a functioning health-care system, roads, bridges, and other necessary means of transportation, and a stable education system.

The Ethiopian Civil War

Unlike Angola, Ethiopia was never really colonized by any European power completely, although many nations had “interests” in the region. Ethiopia's resistance to colonization, however, left its own scars on the nation. The Ethiopian Civil War (1974–19910 was mainly a conflict between Ethiopia’s military junta communist governments and the anti-government rebels.

The Ethiopian Empire became unstable during the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie during the 1950’s. A polarizing figure, Selassie was against modernization, and many saw his rule as stagnating the quality of life in the nation. He was also criticized for allowing human rights abuses and favoring Ethiopia’s nobility, serving to maintain the nation’s feudal-like structure. A 1960 Ethiopian coup attempted to overthrow Selassie but was ultimately unsuccessful.

Eventually, in 1974, the Derg (a committee of low-ranking officers and enlisted men in the Ethiopian army) overthrew Selassie’s regime and became known as the military junta. Much to the USSR’s delight, the Derg established Ethiopia as a Marxist-Leninist communist state. Like the Angolan Civil War, the Derg’s rule was not solidified, and a power vacuum created conflict between many warring factions, each vying to solidify power.

In 1987, the Derg dissolved itself and broke up into several groups, some of which were communist. The USSR eagerly supported the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (PDRE) under the Worker’s Party of Ethiopia (WEP). Meanwhile, the United States did not hesitate to support anti-communist opposition groups against PDRE and WEP.

Ultimately, the PDRE was defeated in 1991, and EPRDF overthrew the WEP in the capital city of Addis Adabba. In 1991, the contested territory of Eritrea gained its independence; however conflict in the region remains. The Ethiopian Civil War left 1.4 million dead, some from famine and some from violence. Although Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peacekeeping agreement through the United Nations in June 2000, with 4,300 military personnel dispatched to the region, instability and hostilities remain.

Consequences

The consequences of international meddling in African affairs has had and continues to have long-lasting effects on the continent. For one, the Berlin conference created artificial political boundaries, which have contributed to marked ethnic conflict and instability on the continent. Likewise, the trauma of the slave trade and the abuses of imperialism have left economies damaged and political volatility in their wake. Even though Ethiopia was not as “imperialized” as Angola, it had to resist imperial forces many times throughout its history and ultimately was forced to accept European interests in the region (such as the de facto colonization of modern day Eritrea by Italy).

Likewise, Cold War tensions and the interjection of the USSR and US support into African politics certainly added fuel to both civil wars, escalating violence. However, the UN has also contributed to peacekeeping efforts in the continent, which can be considered positive.