The Politics Machine: On the Concept of ‘Solidarity’ in East German Support for SWAPO

摘要

In explicit contrast to the alleged ‘neo-colonialism’ of the West, the communist regimes of the former Eastern Bloc thought of themselves as decidedly ‘anti-colonial’. This ‘anti-colonial imaginary’, as opposed to its ‘postcolonial’ counterpart, has as yet received little scholarly attention. Using the relationship between the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and SWAPO as a case study, this article explores the GDR's conception of Africa, the interactions through which it was shaped, and the ways in which it translated into policy. The notion of ‘solidarity’, it argues, was central to the East German discourse on Africa in general and SWAPO in particular. Omnipresent both in the media and in policy circles, yet vague enough to accommodate very different interpretations, ‘solidarity’ defined a politicised perspective on Africa that said as much about the GDR as it did about the continent.View full textDownload full textRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2011.579443