The Evolution Of American Policy In Tanzania, 1960-1985

The United States has a long history of engagement with Tanzania,which was originally a purely trade relation.As far as the United States concerned,Tanzania is not only a source of raw materials,but also a commodity market.This form of relation continued till the end of World WarⅡ.With the cold war came,the United States not only regarded Tanzania as a trading partner,but also a gateway to East Africa and central Africa,and it’s a strategic base in southern Africa for United States to restraint the communism.The United States tried to keep the Tanganyika in the West,and provided a large amount of aid in the early days since its independence in 1961.With the changing of the international situation and the rise of the third world,President Nyerere of Tanzania has changed the policy of relying on foreign in the past and presented a non-aligned neutrality policy.In 1964,after the Tanganyika was united with Zanzibar,it was frequently contact with the socialist countries,this made America very nervous.In particular,the Tanzania government in late 1964 expelled two American diplomats who had deliberately overthrown the Nyerere regime,it has seriously affected the relationship between the United States and Tanzania.Since then,on issues such as the white regime in south Rhodesia,the Vietnam War and the Tanzania-Zambia railway,Nyerere was disappointed with the United States repeatedly.The two countries began to face serious opposition,and the United States imposed some economic sanctions against Tanzania.In order to overcome the economic blockade of the United States,Nyerere issued the Arusha declaration,which seeks to achieve national development through socialist policies.This action makes the America think Tanzania will be a problem in the east African region,so it leads to relation between the two countries tend to drift apart and Tanzania is increasingly marginalised in America’s African strategy.Until 1985,after Mwinyi took office,he completely adjusted the economic system in Tanzania and abandoned socialist radical policies,the relationship between the United States and Tanzania eased significantly.In short,America’s policy and attitude towards Tanzania in the cold war largely depended on the country’s foreign policy towards the east and west.In particular,the United States’ aid policy for Tanzania,From the initial the America utilized aid to prevent the communist group from infiltrating the country,and given aid as a condition for the government to abandon the socialist path in the later.The United States’ actions had always been about curbing the development of communism in Africa.