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Pinto Postdoctoral Fellow
LSE IDEAS
l.e.james@lse.ac.uk
CFP - Negotiating Independence: new directions in the histories of
decolonisation and the Cold War
3-4 May 2013
University of Cambridge
The advent of decolonisation shares more than a chronological partnership
with the Cold War. While the general economic, political, social, and
ideological connections between decolonisation and the Cold War have been
acknowledged, a more detailed interrogation of the confluence of these two
phenomena is now beginning to emerge. The ideological battle between
communism and capitalism encompassed not only political systems of power but
also contentious ideas about states' social structures and economies. Both
decolonisation and the Cold War were also imaginative projects. This
conference will interrogate what role differing ideas about political,
economic and social organization played in how individuals involved in
decolonisation negotiated the bid for independence. The aim is to draw
together Cold War and imperial historians in a scholarly discussion that is
too often isolated into separate fields of study. It will bring together
the latest research from young scholars and established academics who are
leading the way in this new approach to twentieth century history that sees
the Cold War and the end of empire not only as diplomatic phenomena but as
ideologically driven political, economic and social projects as well.
This conference reassesses the impact of the Cold War on colonial
administrators and anti-colonialists while further considering how Cold War
leaders also were forced to wrestle with decolonisation's outcomes.
Anti-colonial nationalists negotiated a complex system of international
relations complicated by distinct ideological binaries: their rhetoric and
policies consequently assumed Cold War overtones as they struggled to define
their place in the postcolonial world. Political leaders in the Soviet
Union, the United States, and their allies also sometimes framed early Cold
War tensions in terms of arguments for or against the continuation of
Europe's empires. Some questions the conference hopes to address include: To
what extent did Cold War rhetoric dictate bids for independence? How did the
politics of anti-racism and colonial solidarity fit into international
relations dominated by an ideological battle between communism and
capitalism? How did those involved in decolonisation decipher ways to
employ the new world power alliances to their advantage? How did Cold War
binaries influence postcolonial social and economic development and
nation-building? In what ways did anti-colonial leaders attempt to resist
the Cold War environment and develop independent identities for themselves
and their countries? And how did decolonisation force the Soviets,
Americans, and their allies to revise their own global strategies?
In particular, the conference aims to identify new themes and directions in
scope, as well as different methodological approaches to studying
decolonisation and the Cold War. A keynote address on methodology will be
given by Matthew Connelly (Columbia University) and Caroline Elkins (Harvard
University).
The deadline for submitting paper proposals is 4 February 2013. Proposals
should include a title and an abstract of no more than 400 words, as well as
the author's name, address, telephone number, email address, and
institutional affiliation, and should be emailed to el317@cam.ac.uk and
l.e.james@lse.ac.uk.
Please access the attached hyperlink for an important electronic
communications disclaimer: http://lse.ac.uk/emailDisclaimer
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