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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | An unconventional challenge to apartheid: the Ivorian dialogue diplomacy with South Africa, 1960-1978 |
Author: | Bamba, Abou B. |
Year: | 2014 |
Periodical: | International Journal of African Historical Studies (ISSN 0361-7882) |
Volume: | 47 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 77-99 |
Language: | English |
Geographic terms: | Ivory Coast - Côte d'Ivoire France South Africa |
Subjects: | apartheid diplomacy international relations political ideologies |
Abstract: | This article regards the Ivorian delegation led by Laurent Fologo in 1975 to South Africa as the culmination of a dialogue diplomacy that the Ivory Coast initiated in the late 1960s. Its clear departure from the isolation policy that African countries were trying to implement so as to pressure the apartheid regime in Pretoria stirred controversy and African public opinion was largely hostile and dismissive. In this article, the author argues that a critical look at the Fologo mission and the larger Ivorian stance can shed new light on the complex transnational politics used to fight apartheid. Instead of stating that the Ivorian policy-makers acted on French advice, the author suggests that the Ivory Coast dialogue initiative was primarily a Pan-Africanist extension of the 'Dialogue à l'ivorienne.' The author explains what this entailed and examines the nature and viability of the proposed dialogue diplomacy by first scrutinizing the Ivorian context which involves looking into the Ivory Coast's relationship with France. In further analysing the political relationship between these three countries, the author investigates why the Ivory Coast was so adament in initiating a dialogue with a country which was practically vilified by the global community. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract] |