The Cold War in Africa
How superpower competition intersected with African decolonization, from the Congo Crisis to Angola, Mozambique, and the Horn of Africa.
When Decolonization Met the Cold War
Between 1956 and 1968, more than 30 African nations gained independence from European colonial powers. These new states were immediately courted by both superpowers, who saw Africa as a new arena for Cold War competition. The result was that conflicts rooted in colonial legacies and local grievances were overlaid with superpower patronage, weapons, and ideology.
The pattern was established early. In 1960, the Congo gained independence from Belgium in chaos. Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba, a charismatic nationalist, turned to the Soviet Union for support when the United Nations and the West proved unresponsive to his appeals for help against a Belgian-backed secession in mineral-rich Katanga province. The CIA, viewing Lumumba as a potential Soviet ally, supported the military coup by Joseph Mobutu and was involved in plotting Lumumba's assassination. Lumumba was captured and killed in January 1961. Mobutu would rule the renamed Zaire for 32 years as one of Africa's most corrupt dictators, receiving consistent US support because he was reliably anti-communist.
