MACMILLAN Nkrumaism and African Nationalism: Ghana’s Pan-African Foreign Policy in the Age of Decolonization (African Histories and Modernities)

About the Author Matteo Grilli is Postdoctoral Fellow at the International Studies Group, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.  Product Description This book examines Ghana’s Pan-African foreign policy during Nkrumah’s rule, investigating how Ghanaians sought to influence the ideologies of African liberation movements through the Bureau of African Affairs, the African Affairs Centre and the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute. In a world of competing ideologies, when African nationalism was taking shape through trial and error, Nkrumah offered Nkrumaism as a truly African answer to colonialism, neo-colonialism and the rapacity of the Cold War powers. Although virtually no liberation movement followed the precepts of Nkrumaism to the letter, many adapted the principles and organizational methods learnt in Ghana to their own struggles. Drawing upon a significant set of primary sources and on oral testimonies from Ghanaian civil servants, politicians and diplomats as well as African freedom fighters, this book offers new angles for understanding the history of the Cold War, national liberation and nation-building in Africa.  Review “Fifty years after the coup that overthrew Kwame Nkrumah, historians are slowly putting together a more considered understanding of the man and his policies. This book adds much that is new to that effort. Closely argued and fluently written, this is a first class contribution to a most timely and important topic.” (Tom McCaskie, Professor of African History, SOAS London University, UK)“Anyone interested in African liberation movements should read this illuminating study. Though much of what Nkrumah sought was not achieved, Grilli argues convincingly for Nkrumah’s significant influence.” (Christopher Saunders, Professor Emeritus, University of Cape Town, South Africa)“Anchored in new oral and archival research and a critical rereading of earlier scholarship, this innovative study shows how Nkrumah’s Ghana became a key international player in African decolonization and a hub for liberation movements. An important contribution to our understanding of the recent African past.” (Elizabeth Schmidt, Professor of History, Loyola University Maryland, USA)  From the Back Cover This book examines Ghana’s Pan-African foreign policy during Nkrumah’s rule, investigating how Ghanaians sought to influence the ideologies of African liberation movements through the Bureau of African Affairs, the African Affairs Centre and the Kwame Nkrumah Ideological Institute. In a world of competing ideologies, when African nationalism was taking shape through trial and error, Nkrumah offered Nkrumaism as a truly African answer to colonialism, neo-colonialism and the rapacity of the Cold War powers. Although virtually no liberation movement followed the precepts of Nkrumaism to the letter, many adapted the principles and organizational methods learnt in Ghana to their own struggles. Drawing upon a significant set of primary sources and on oral testimonies from Ghanaian civil servants, politicians and diplomats as well as African freedom fighters, this book offers new angles for understanding the history of the Cold War, national liberation and nation-building in Africa.