Name: Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976-1991 /]cpiero Gleijeses
ISBN: 9781469628325

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Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976-1991 /]cpiero Gleijeses

Piero Gleijeses

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During the final fifteen years of the Cold War, southern Africa underwent a period of upheaval, with dramatic twists and turns in relations between the superpowers. Americans, Cubans, Soviets, and Africans fought over the future of Angola, where tens of thousands of Cuban soldiers were stationed, and over the decolonization of Namibia, Africa's last colony. Beyond lay the great prize: South Africa. Piero Gleijeses uses archival sources, particularly from the United States, South Africa, and the closed Cuban archives, to provide an unprecedented international history of this important theater of the late Cold War.
These sources all point to one conclusion: by humiliating the United States and defying the Soviet Union, Fidel Castro changed the course of history in southern Africa. It was Cuba's victory in Angola in 1988 that forced Pretoria to set Namibia free and helped break the back of apartheid South Africa. In the words of Nelson Mandela, the Cubans "destroyed the myth of the invincibility of the white oppressor . . . [and] inspired the fighting masses of South Africa."

Book Details

Publisher: University of North Carolina Press
Publish Date: Feb 1st, 2016
Pages: 672
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.10in - 6.00in - 1.90in - 2.15lb
EAN: 9781469628325
Categories: • United States - 20th Century• Caribbean & West Indies - Cuba• Africa - South - Republic of South Africa

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About the Author

Gleijeses, Piero: - Piero Gleijeses is professor of American foreign policy at the School of Advanced International Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. He is author of Conflicting Missions: Havana, Washington, and Africa, 1959-1976, among other books.

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What people are saying

The Dig

@thedigradio

2 years

@jacobin podcast. Host: @danieldenvir. Producer: @alexjrlewis. Listen. Give $$ https://t.co/gI9XOBRTRB

A transcript of a November episode where @DanielDenvir speaks with Piero Gleijeses about his book Visions of Freedom: Havana, Washington, Pretoria, and the Struggle for Southern Africa, 1976–1991: https://t.co/WEicuiyH4z.

twitter.com

vanguardism but it looks like sneakers

@motelabyss

3 years

ex @malteserubble

Piero Gleijeses, whose two books on“Conflicting Missions” and “Visions of Freedom” offer extensive resources on Cuba in Africa during the Cold War, on the decisive battle against Apartheid forces in Cuito Canavale https://t.co/nJizjc34Bx

Political & economic history @Cornell. “The Economic Weapon” (2022). Europe + Weltinnenpolitik. Writing a history of property confiscation.

The South Africa chapter in @DrLeeJones "Societies under Siege" and Piero Gleijeses' "Visions of Freedom" are excellent on this.

twitter.com

Praise for this book

"Gleijeses's massively researched and provocative study of the complex relationship between Cuba, the United States, and South Africa enhances his reputation as one of the leading scholars of international relations."--Journal of American History

"A comprehensive, informative account."--Journal of Latin American Studies

"A masterful scholarly inquiry."--Noam Chomsky, Truthout

"Gleijeses's eminently readable work is a major contribution to the historiography of the Cold War on one of its lesser-known fronts; it is diplomatic history at its finest and at its most compelling."--International Affairs

"Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above."--CHOICE

"Visions of Freedom should stand as a standard reference for any examination of the hot wars in Africa."--Hispanic American Historical Review

"Provides a mirror that allows Americans, Cubans (and Russians) to see another reflection of their true self in the context of their foreign policy tussle in Africa."--Dissident Voice

"An extraordinary feat of scholarship that is painstakingly researched, cogently argued, and beautifully written. . . . This remarkable book provides a unique window on the processes of decolonization and the Cold War in Southern Africa. It will be an invaluable resource for scholars, students, and libraries for years to come."--H-Diplo Roundtable Review

"A multi-level analysis and international search for documentary sources woven into a detailed narrative."--Military History

"Well researched and presented in an organized manner. . . . An excellent work and will serve as a standard textbook on the southern African Cold War for a long time."--Journal of the North Carolina Association of Historians