Battleground Africa: The Cold War and the Congo crisis, 1960--1965

Less than two weeks after the Congo celebrated its independence, unrest spread across the country and Moise Tshombe declared the independence of Katanga. Belgium sent paratroopers to support Tshombe and defend its interests in the mineral rich province. Congolese President Joseph Kasavubu and Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in restoring the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Congo. The U.N. Security Council, with the agreement of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Chairman Nikita Khrushchev, created a U.N. operation for the purpose of restoring order to the Congo and preparing the way for the Belgian withdrawal of its paratroopers.; The Congo crisis began as a crisis of decolonization. But the Congo could not and would not escape the Cold War. An examination of U.S. and Soviet policy in Africa until 1960 shows that the crisis in the Congo was neither unexpected, nor would it be easily resolved. The United States feared a Soviet expansion into Africa, while the Soviet Union wanted to deprive the West of its traditional sphere of influence. Both superpowers hoped to avoid a direct military confrontation, yet both would offer military support to their allies in the Congo. Both superpowers also worked to harmonize their interests in the Congo with their Cold War bloc politics, NATO in the case of the United States, and China in the case of the Soviet Union. Despite these global influences, it was the personal decision-making styles of the leaders and their goals that ultimately determined the course of the crisis.; Scholars have tended to investigate the Congo crisis from the perspective of the United States. Instead, this study takes an international perspective enabled by the use of newly opened archives in Moscow and the United States. It examines the U.S.-Soviet-Congolese triangle of relations, particularly within the context of the United Nations, to better understand the global impact of the crisis and its effect on the Cold War in Africa.