Reexamining the Global Cold War in South Africa: Port Usage, Space Tracking and Weapons Sales

摘要

The global Cold War is used frequently by historians to frame the context of political, economic, social, military, and geographic history of the 20th century. This is often the case in Africa as well. This thesis set out to explore U.S.- South African relations during the 1960s. After conducting research in Record Group 59 (State Department Records) of the National Archives from 1967-1973, three case studies emerged that suggested that reexamination of how historians traditionally view U.S.-South African relations during this time period is necessary. The three case studies include U.S. use of naval ports in South Africa, the strategic geographic location of South Africa and its importance to NASAu27s satellite and missile tracking stations, and the policy of selling of weapons to South Africa by the U.S. While this is by no means an exhaustive study of this time period due to limited time in the National Archives, it does offer promise for more research involving this topic.