Oral history conference held at Monash South Africa

4 February 2009

Dr Anna-Mart van Wyk (Monash South Africa) and Dr Sue Onslow (LSE IDEAS)

An oral history conference, Southern Africa in the Cold War, Post-1974, held on the Monash South Africa campus at the end of January, saw the gathering of a unique combination of a small group of select international academics and active participants in the domestic and regional conflict between the various African liberation movements in Southern Africa (i.e. Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa), the white minority governments of South Africa and Rhodesia/Zimbabwe, and former Soviet and Cuban representatives.
 
Political conflict in Southern Africa in the later part of the 20th century possessed both a domestic and an international dimension. For the supporters of African liberation from white minority rule, support from independent African states, socialist regimes in Europe and Asia was vital; so too, the Portuguese regime of Angola and Mozambique, the Rhodesia Front in Rhodesia, and the National Party government in South Africa sought to exploit their geopolitical, economic and ideological importance to the West. The Cold War therefore provided a vital backdrop to this regional struggle, both in terms of perception and propaganda, as well as the reality of military conflict and alliance patterns.

The interaction of the domestic dimension of the struggle of black liberation with regional and global affairs was addressed at the conference and documentary data from the liberation era was discussed from multiple perspectives.

“The overall purpose of the conference”, said Dr Anna-Mart van Wyk, Lecturer and Section Head: International Studies, Monash South Africa, “was the examination of multiple historical narratives and their cross-fertilization. Documentary material from the white governments and their armies, as well as archival material from liberation forces was presented which promoted lively discussion and debate between all parties.”
 
The conference was co-hosted by The Southern Africa Initiative at London School of Economics (LSE) IDEAS and the International Studies Department at Monash South Africa and was sponsored by the Aluka Project, the Nordic Afrika Institute and the Journal of Southern African Studies.

Sessions were chaired by Professor Iain Edwards (Monash South Africa), Professor Brian Raftopoulos and Professor Tilman Dedering (Unisa). Academic papers and questions were prepared by Professor Vladimir Shubin (Russian Academy of Sciences), Dr Sue Onslow (LSE and King’s College London), Professor Chris Saunders (University of Cape Town) and Dr Thula Simpson (University of Pretoria).

Non-Academic Participants included: Mr Ben Amathila (Namibia), Mr Pik Botha (South Africa), General Jannie Geldenhuys (South Africa), Professor Ben Magubane (South Africa), Mr Wilfred Mhanda (Zimbabwe), Dr Wilbert Sadomba (Zimbabwe), Professor Vladimir Shubin (Russia), Mr Dave Steward (South Africa), Ambassador Andrei Urnov (Russia), Ambassador Angel Villa (Cuba), Professor Richard Wood (ex-Zimbabwe) and Mr Vic Zazerej (South Africa).

For more information contact:
Dr Anna-Mart van Wyk, Lecturer and Section Head: International Studies, Monash South Africa
Tel. +27 11 950-4075, E-mail: anna-mart.vanwyk@arts.monash.edu

Dr Sue Onslow, Cold War Studies Fellow, London School of Economics IDEAS
E-mail: s.onslow@lse.ac.uk