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West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany
This thesis examines West Germany's relationship with Namibia between 1969 and 1990. It investigates West German foreign policy towards Namibia, at the height of the Namibian liberation struggle, against the backdrop of East and West German rivalry. It brings to light that the post-war division of G...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Historical Studies
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613243648770048 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Kern, Thorsten |
| author2 | Adhikari, Mohamed |
| author_browse | Adhikari, Mohamed Kern, Thorsten |
| author_facet | Adhikari, Mohamed Kern, Thorsten |
| author_sort | Kern, Thorsten |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This thesis examines West Germany's relationship with Namibia between 1969 and 1990. It investigates West German foreign policy towards Namibia, at the height of the Namibian liberation struggle, against the backdrop of East and West German rivalry. It brings to light that the post-war division of Germany into two separate states significantly impacted both German states' policies towards Namibia. The Federal Republic of Germany's (FRG) changing approach towards the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is analysed in relation to the Federal Republic's shifting attitude towards the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), Namibia's leading national liberation movement. It shows that the political dynamic that drove the normalisation of relations between East and West Germany played a key role in West Germany's move towards supporting SWAPO in the mid-to-late 1970. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates that the Federal Republic's political landscape was dominated by political division over the issue of SWAPO's role in Namibia's future. This dissertation therefore examines the diverging views among political parties and its wider effects on shaping West Germany's policy towards Namibia. It calls to attention that political discord led to attempts by political factions to influence events in Namibia, independent of the Federal Government, through alternative instruments of foreign policy. Particular attention is also paid to the ideological underpinnings that promoted or hindered interactions and co-operation between East and West Germany in Namibia, on the one hand, and the two German states and SWAPO on the other. It reveals that West Germany's attitude towards SWAPO cannot be separated from the wider realities of the Cold War. In particular, it shows that the normalization of relations between West Germany and SWAPO can only be fully understood against the backdrop of intra-German rivalry. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24509 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:01.081Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Department of Historical Studies |
| publisherStr | Department of Historical Studies |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/24509 West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany Kern, Thorsten Adhikari, Mohamed Saunders, Christopher History This thesis examines West Germany's relationship with Namibia between 1969 and 1990. It investigates West German foreign policy towards Namibia, at the height of the Namibian liberation struggle, against the backdrop of East and West German rivalry. It brings to light that the post-war division of Germany into two separate states significantly impacted both German states' policies towards Namibia. The Federal Republic of Germany's (FRG) changing approach towards the German Democratic Republic (GDR) is analysed in relation to the Federal Republic's shifting attitude towards the South West Africa People's Organisation (SWAPO), Namibia's leading national liberation movement. It shows that the political dynamic that drove the normalisation of relations between East and West Germany played a key role in West Germany's move towards supporting SWAPO in the mid-to-late 1970. Furthermore, this thesis demonstrates that the Federal Republic's political landscape was dominated by political division over the issue of SWAPO's role in Namibia's future. This dissertation therefore examines the diverging views among political parties and its wider effects on shaping West Germany's policy towards Namibia. It calls to attention that political discord led to attempts by political factions to influence events in Namibia, independent of the Federal Government, through alternative instruments of foreign policy. Particular attention is also paid to the ideological underpinnings that promoted or hindered interactions and co-operation between East and West Germany in Namibia, on the one hand, and the two German states and SWAPO on the other. It reveals that West Germany's attitude towards SWAPO cannot be separated from the wider realities of the Cold War. In particular, it shows that the normalization of relations between West Germany and SWAPO can only be fully understood against the backdrop of intra-German rivalry. 2017-06-06T09:47:20Z 2017-06-06T09:47:20Z 2016 Doctoral Thesis Doctoral PhD http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24509 eng application/pdf Department of Historical Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | History Kern, Thorsten West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| thesis_degree_str | Doctoral |
| title | West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| title_full | West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| title_fullStr | West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| title_full_unstemmed | West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| title_short | West Germany and Namibia's path to independence, 1969-1990: foreign policy and rivalry with East Germany |
| title_sort | west germany and namibia s path to independence 1969 1990 foreign policy and rivalry with east germany |
| topic | History |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/24509 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kernthorsten westgermanyandnamibiaspathtoindependence19691990foreignpolicyandrivalrywitheastgermany |