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      International commercial rivalries & the zai'rian copper nationalisation of 1967

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      Review of African Political Economy
      Review of African Political Economy
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            Abstract

            Research on the international relations of the African continent has generally eschewed the phenomenon of rivalry among the advanced capitalist powers for commercial and political influence south of the Sahara. Most studies of Africa's international relations, especially from a critical perspective, have tended to emphasize the unityof the northern, capitalist powers in opposing challenges from third world countries. During the 1970s, research emphasized the efforts of multinational corporations and their home governments to prevent or undermine efforts at economic nationalism in third world countries. While such studies did recognize the potential for somewhat varied responses to rationalistic ‘threats’, there was a widespread assumption that the rich nations would exhibit a significant degree of unity in preserving international property rights and the free flow of capital. More recently, critical studies have emphasized the salience of the international financial community and the International Monetary Fund in reestablishing political and economic hegemony over peripheral areas, including Africa (Mohan & Zack‐Williams, 1995).

            Such approaches tend to overlook the phenomenon of conflict and competition among these powers. This article will examine the historical basis of international rivalries in Zaïre, focusing on the rise of General Mobutu's regime, primarily during the late 1960s. During this period, the United States was seeking to expand its commercial and political influence in Zaïre, generally at the expense of established European interests. The principal protagonist of the US was the former colonial power, Belgium. In essence, it will be argued, inter‐capitalist rivalries in Zaïre were an inevitable outgrowth of decolonization. The European powers had always used colonialism as a method to maintain exclusive or quasi‐exclusive trading and investment opportunities for home country interests and to exclude potential interlopers ‐ such as the United States. During the 1960s, the US viewed the circumstances of decolonization as an opportunity for political and commercial expansion, sometimes at the expense of European interests. European‐US conflicts, some of which continue to the present day, were the result. Historical conflicts such as these are highly relevant to understanding present‐day international relations in Central Africa when once again, rivalries among the western powers ‐ this time between the US and France ‐ are apparent.

            Content

            Author and article information

            Journal
            crea20
            CREA
            Review of African Political Economy
            Review of African Political Economy
            0305-6244
            1740-1720
            June 1997
            : 24
            : 72
            : 171-184
            Affiliations
            a University of Arizona
            Article
            8704251 Review of African Political Economy, Vol. 24, No. 72, June 1997, pp. 171-184
            10.1080/03056249708704251
            ee599cae-0a1f-4af3-b4f7-37b06ceeb381

            All content is freely available without charge to users or their institutions. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission of the publisher or the author. Articles published in the journal are distributed under a http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

            History
            Page count
            Figures: 0, Tables: 0, References: 23, Pages: 14
            Categories
            Original Articles

            Sociology,Economic development,Political science,Labor & Demographic economics,Political economics,Africa

            Bibliography

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            2. CIA. . 1967. . “‘Memorandum for the Director: A Worrisome Contingency in the Congo’. ”.

            3. Cruise O'Brien C. . 1966. . To Katanga and Back . , New York : : Universal Library. .

            4. 1982. . ‘Maurice Tempelsman's African Connection’. . Fortune . , 15 November;

            5. Gerard‐Libois J. . 1966. . Katanga Secession . , Madison : : University of Wisconsin Press. .

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            7. 1996. . ‘Misrepresenting the Congo Crisis’. . African Affairs . , Vol. 95:: 380

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            11. Kalb M. . 1982. . The Congo Cables . , New York : : MacMillan. .

            12. ( 1963 ), interview notes: ‘Conversation with Messrs. Larry Devlin and [name deleted by the author] of the CIA’ , 28 October 1963 (in Ernest W. Lefever Papers, Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford University , Box 8)

            13. Mahoney R. . 1983. . JFK: Ordeal in Africa . , New York : : OUP. .

            14. Mohan G and Zack‐Williams A. . 1995. . ‘Imperialism in the Post‐cold War Era’. . ROAPE . , Vol. 66:

            15. Neher, L (1971), letter to Sheldon Vance, 25 March 1971. Released to the author under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

            16. ( 1987 ), ‘Our Man in Kinshasa: US Relations with Mobutu, 1970–1983, Patron‐Client Relations in the International Sphere’ , Ph.D. thesis, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University

            17. Radmann R. . 1978. . ‘The Nationalization of Zaire's Copper: From Union Miniere to GECAMINES’. . Africa Today . , Vol. 25:: 4

            18. Rodman K. . 1988. . Sanctity Versus Sovereignty: The United States and the Nationalisation of Natural Resources Investments . , New York : : Columbia University Press. .

            19. United Nations. . 3 December. 1996 . “‘IRIN Emergency Update no. 47 on Eastern Zaire’. ”. 3 December. ,

            20. US Government. . 4 January. 1967b . Memorandum, from Armistead Lee to Mr. Brown . 4 January. ,

            21. US Senate. . 1975. . Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders . , Washington : : Government Printing Office. .

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            23. Young C and Turner T. . 1985. . The Rise and Decline of the Zaïrian State . , Madison : : University of Wisconsin Press. .

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