Communism in Africa

Abstract

Communism in Africa can be analyzed along two dimensions: Communist movements that generally developed between the two world wars and were subjected to state repression and communism as a post-colonial state policy. During the colonial era communists built alliances with democratic and anti-colonial movements; any success reflected their ability to forge links with trade unions and nationalist organizations. Following independence, many new states adopted communist ideology and policies to facilitate international alliances and promote development. Those regimes form a subset of African one-party states that span the ideological spectrum. In post-colonial Africa communist and socialist movements have made episodic political gains during turbulent periods, but they have found it difficult to capitalize on such advances when faced with multiparty elections.

Mutual Interventions in Africa

“…The most obvious form of involvement by third states from the African continent relates to the "interconnectedness" between two or more MIs (Forsberg 2016, 83) (Ottaway 1982;Westad 2005, 228-87;Mitchell 2016). Given the key role of revolutionary regimes in the onset of Africa's MIs, the ideological inspiration that the Soviet Union provided is as noteworthy as its material support (Drew 2014).…”

Official Marxism and Socialist Development in Ethiopia: Rhetoric and Reality

“…Africans from the continent and the diaspora flocked to Moscow, the "Red Mecca", to witness how socialism had overcome exploitation and racism (McClellan 2007). In comparison with colonial territories -in some of which communist networks emerged (Drew 2014) -or the United States, the Soviet Union indeed seemed progressive. Circles close to the communist movement in Paris or London also became breeding grounds for anticolonial activists from Asia, Africa and Latin America (Adi 2013;Goebel 2015).…”