Czechoslovakia in Africa, 1945-1968

ISBN-13: 9781137561442 / Angielski / Twarda / 2015 / 271 str.

Philip E. Muehlenbeck

Opis

As the first communist state to arrive in Africa post-WWII, Czechoslovakia advanced the cause of communism on the continent often in advance of the Soviet Union's own Cold War agenda. Given its own relatively small population and undersized national economy, Czechoslovakia's involvement in Africa was surprisingly massive in scale. The Czechoslovak government gave significant amounts of military aid to newly established national armies of independent African countries and helped them develop their own national airlines. Czechoslovakia sought to develop not only diplomatic and political, but also economic and cultural ties to nearly every African state, which led to the opening of Czech cultural centers and the study of the Czech language throughout Africa.

Recenzje

"Based on careful research in both Czechoslovakian and U.S. archives and a strong grasp of the relevant secondary sources for broad context, Muehlenbeck's book once again displays his persuasive writing style and insightful analysis. ... This book adds another very important piece to the puzzle of foreign-relations history during the Cold War, and should be consulted by all scholars of post-WWII African international affairs." (Andy DeRoche, H-Net Reviews, H-Diplo Roundtable Review, Vol. 18 (19), March, 2017)

"The author organizes his book on a chronological principle and around major cases.  ... The book should be read by those interested in Africa's history and politics, as well as in the history of the Cold War. The author has presented to the English-speaking world the unknown Czechoslovakia, as another European country, which used to be an important actor on the African scene." (Sergey Mazov, H-Net Reviews, H-Diplo Roundtable Review, Vol. 18 (19), March, 2017)

O autorze

Philip E. Muehlenbeck is a Professorial Lecturer in History at George Washington University, USA. He is the author of Betting on the Africans: John F. Kennedy's Courting of African Nationalist Leaders and editor of Religion and the Cold War: A Global Perspective.