Czechoslovakia in Independent Angola and Mozambique : Mutual Advantage of Modernization

This book offers a detailed study based on archival documents that deals with the Czechoslovak contribution to the modernization of Angola and Mozambique in the context of the last two decades of the Cold War.

This book examines Czechoslovakia’s contribution to the economic modernization of Angola and Mozambique in the late Cold War period. It is particularly inspired by global history and new Cold War history approaches to historiography Based on newly accessible sources, manifestations of the Cold War in the countries of the Global South, including the African continent, began to be explored. Scholarly attention also shifted from the activities of the Soviet Union and the United States to their allies. analysis in this book is based on a wide range of declassified sources, primarily from former Czechoslovak state institutions and the institutions of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, supplemented by interviews with witnesses. Primary focus is placed on the perspective of the Czechoslovak state actors. These include not only the highest political representatives but also previously overlooked smaller state institutions and individuals, such as the foreign trade organizations subordinated to the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Czechoslovak embassies in Angola and Mozambique, and the experts who worked on the ground in those countries. Exploring their role in shaping Czechoslovak foreign policy toward Angola and Mozambique reveals new dimensions in bilateral relations and leads to new interpretations of them.