Ireland, Africa and the End of Empire: Small State Identity in the Cold War 1955-75 by Kevin O'Sullivan
Release Date: May 29, 2014
Publisher: Manchester University Press
In the twenty years after Ireland joined the UN in 1955, one subject dominated its fortunes: Africa. The first detailed study of Ireland's relationship with that continent, this book, now available in paperback, documents its special place in Irish history.
Adopting a highly original, and strongly comparative approach, it shows how small and middling powers like Ireland, Canada, the Netherlands and the Nordic states used Africa to shape their position in the international system, and how their influence waned with the rise of the Afro-Asian bloc. O'Sullivan chronicles Africa's impact on Irish foreign policy; the link between African decolonisation and Irish post-colonial identity; and the missionaries, aid workers, diplomats, peacekeepers, and anti-apartheid protesters at the heart of Irish popular understanding of the developing world.
Offering a fascinating account of small state diplomacy, and a unique perspective on African decolonisation, this book provides essential insight for scholars of Irish history, African history, international relations, and the history of NGOs, as well as anyone interested in Africa's important place in the Irish public imagination.
Kevin O'Sullivan is a lecturer in history at the National University of Ireland-Galway. He has contributed chapters to
International Organizations and Development, 1945-1990 (forthcoming, 2014; edited by Marc Frey, Sonke Kunkel, and Corinna R Unger),
Saints and Sinners: Official Development Aid and Its Dynamics in a Historical and Comparative Perspective (edited by Thorsten Borring Olesen, Helge O. Pharo, and Kristian Paaskesen), and
Obligations and Responsibilities: Ireland and the United Nations, 1955-2005: Essays Marking Fifty Years of Ireland's United Nations Membership.
South Africa came late to television; when it finally arrived in the late 1970s the rest of the world had already begun to shun the country because of apartheid. While the ruling National Party feared the integrative effects of television, they did not foresee how exclusion from globally unifying broadcasts would gradually erode their power. Throughout the apartheid-era South Africa was barred from participating in some of television's greatest global attractions, including sporting events such as the Olympics and contests such as Miss World. After apartheid, and with the release of Nelson Mandela from prison – itself one of the world's most memorable media events, came a proliferation of large-scale live broadcasts that attracted the admiration of the rest of the world. At the same time, the country was permitted to return to international competition. These events were pivotal in shaping and consolidating the country's emerging post-apartheid national identity. Broadcasting the End of Apartheid assesses the socio-political effect of live broadcasting on South Africa's transition to democracy. MJ Evans argues that just as print media had a powerful influence on the development of Afrikaner nationalism, so the 'liveness' of television helped to consolidate the 'newness' of the post-apartheid South African national identity.
As the French public debates its present diversity and its colonial past, few remember that between 1946 and 1960 the inhabitants of French colonies possessed the rights of French citizens. Moreover, they did not have to conform to the French civil code that regulated marriage and inheritance. One could, in principle, be a citizen and different too.