The impact of the Cold War on the International Relations in Africa

This paper examines the impact of the Cold War on the development of international relations on the African continent in the 1960–1970s. It reveals the true essence of the ideological confrontation between capitalist and socialist blocks at the time when the Soviet Union’s international influence was at its pinnacle and a growing number of newly independent nations opted for socialist orientation. The author identifies how the Soviet diplomacy and his father, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR in 1957–1985, Andrey A. Gromyko, in particular, addressed African challenges and treated some of the most prominent African political leaders, such as Kwame Nkrumah and Ahmed Sékou Touré. The paper focuses on both the Western assessments of the Soviet policy towards Africa, which was usually seen through the lens of a zero-sum game, and the Soviet scholars’ attempts to establish a constructive dialogue with their foreign colleagues and to advocate the need to strengthen cooperation between the superpowers for the benefit of African countries. In conclusion the author outlines which important lessons should be learned from the history of the Cold War in order to prevent a new escalation of international tensions and make the ‘power of law’ prevail over the ‘right of force’.