Taking Zimbabwe as its focus, this module explores the dynamics shaping decolonisation in Africa following the end of the Second World War, the foundation of the United Nations, and the emergence of a bi-polar world divided between the Communist East and the Capitalist West. We will examine the ideological transformations that eventually situated African decolonisation along radical or gradualist/pacifist paths. Zimbabwe, the Rhodesian settler state that took the former route, is an exemplary case of the contradictions of communist liberation philosophies that changed from radical nationalism to armed struggle but also fomented struggles within that armed struggle. We will consider the outcomes of the different theoretical and ideological approaches of the various actors in Zimbabwe's struggle for liberation, how they not only gave rise to a protracted war but ultimately to a negotiated settlement involving the key world powers. We will also explore the legacies of those broad interests, and their implications for the survival of Zimbabwe as a post-colonial state forced to continue balancing vested international interests.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module students should be able to:
Critically reflect on the significance of the Cold War for African decolonisation
Critically evaluate the politics of settler states, such as Rhodesia, which sought to perpetuate European colonialism in the face of growing African decolonisation
Critically consider ideological differences among Eastern Bloc countries in their approach to African decolonisation and their impact on African liberation movements in Zimbabwe
Critically evaluate the conduct of African liberation armies in the liberation war and the legacies they created for a post-independent Zimbabwe
