The US Foreign Policy in the Horn of Africa: The Cold War Era 1945-1990

By Rachid Mohamed Youssouf

From the historical perspective, the Cold War can be regarded as an extension and continuation of colonialism via different means. The tools and methods that the superpowers, as well as local allies used, were in many ways similar to those desired during the last stage of European colonialism: gigantic economic and social projects, the promises of progress and modernization to the supporters, and almost death to the opponents or those who dare to step on the way of progress.

The tragedy of the history of the Cold War in general and of the Cold War in the countries of the Third World, in particular, showed that two historical projects were originally anti-colonial, however, at last, they became the part of significantly older domination patter, due to intensity and severity of the confrontation, as well as the high stakes they considered were involved and practically apocalyptic fear of the situation when the opponent wins. In other words, even though both Soviet Union and the United States opposed colonialism and its reflections, they practically did the same in their own version of modernity, like their predecessors (for instance, France and Britain with their colonial projects of the 19th and 20th centuries). These methods were focused on implementing ecological, demographic, and cultural change in the societies of the Third World while utilizing military power to defeat the states that dare to resist.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

MOHAMED YOUSSOUF Rachid, was born on a grey morning under the blazing sun of a hot summer in Djibouti city in 1990. Animator, investigative journalist, essayist of the new independent media of the Horn of Africa called The Voice of Djibouti (LVD), the author has a passion for the issue of foreign policy, authors and historians of the Horn of Africa and began his socio-political commitment very early thanks to these different courses and his tours in West Africa. Greatly interested in the world of literature, foreign civilization and international relations, the Djiboutian enarque is guided by his pen through which he tries to rediscover the history of the Horn of Africa; the issue of geopolitics, post-colonial recomposition and the reconquest of Islam in these lost territories. Animator of political programs, former head of programming, much sought after by international or regional media such as “bbc, voa” ...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publishroom
• Release date: Apr 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9782384546862

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

AND ACRONYMS

AU: African Union

CIA: Community Intelligence Agency

ELF: Eritrea Liberation Front

EPLF: Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front

HoA: Horn of Africa

IGAD: Intergovernmental Authority for Development

NFD: Northern Frontier District

NSC: National Security Council

OAU:Organization of African Unity

ONLF: Ogaden National Liberation Front

SALT II: Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty II

TPLF: Tigray People’s Liberation Front

UN: United Nation

Abstract

This paper investigates and evaluates the foreign policy of the United States in the Horn of Africa region during the period of the Cold War. In particular, the text examines the antagonism between the USSR and the United States in the above-mentioned region, paying additional attention to the unfolding of the regional conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya. In addition, the thesis demonstrates how the rivalry between the superpowers led to range of negative military, economic and social consequences in the area, and are still impacting the development of the region today. The author analyzes both primary and secondary sources to reach the objective and goal of the study.

Keywords: Horn of Africa, Cold War, the United States, Soviet Union, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Ogaden War.

CHAPTER 1.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Today, the United States of America is regarded as a superpower, whose influence and geopolitical strength cannot be denied. Its foreign policy as a way of promoting national interests should be understood as a tension between principles/values and power.¹ With the beginning of the Cold War, the U.S. started to demonstrate an interest in the region of Africa in general and in the Horn of Africa in particular. This territory was very beneficial as it was situated between Asia and the U.S, providing important Sea and airways to the Middle East and the Far East.² The U.S. located its military facilities in different African countries to protect the free and secure movement and trade of Southern African and the Persian Gulf resources (non-fuel and fuel minerals) to Western countries.³ In addition, the termination of colonialism left a lot of African countries politically unstable, making these countries the perfect target for antagonism and competition between the superpowers. The region was interesting for the United States due to several reasons, however, the most important of them was access to resources: platinum, uranium, manganese, oil, and cobalt. Besides, the Horn of Africa is situated in a strategically important location and the United States considered it obligatory to intervene there during the period of the Cold War.

The Horn of Africa (HoA) includes several countries in East Africa and extends from the Red Sea and the Gulf of Eden outwards into the Indian Ocean.⁴ This area received such a name as it has a horn-shaped form. The total population of this region is more than 235 million people (estimations from various years) and the territory of this region is approximately 4105675 sq km.⁵ The countries that are a part of HoA are defined by different organizations. For example, the International Crisis Group includes such countries as Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda.⁶ Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan have the U.S. military on their territory.⁷ The other set of countries is provided by the regional multinational organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development that underlines that HoA includes Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda (see Figure 1).⁸ The definition of counties provided by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development is considered as the most accurate and popular nowadays.⁹ Overall, the HoA region is comprised of countries that have not only a similar geographical location but also a strategic interaction or security interdependence.¹⁰

Table 1. Population and Area of the States in the Horn of Africa¹¹

Figure 1. Map of the Horn of Africa, as defined in this paper. Highlighted states: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda¹²

Continuing to discuss the general information regarding the Horn of Africa region and its specifics, it is necessary to take into account the following statistics (see Table 2).

Table 2. Elements of Capability of States of the Horn of Africa Compared (1988*)¹³

The table demonstrates that in 1988 among all the countries, Ethiopia had the largest population, the biggest armed forces, and the largest M.E. GNP. This statistic also shows the importance of the country in contrast to the other states in the Horn of Africa.

Most African countries obtained independence after the end of World War II.¹⁴ The old historical order of the world was destroyed and a large part of formerly powerful mother countries lost their influence on a global scale. In particular, the war negatively impacted European countries that ended up in ruins both economically and physically.¹⁵ At the same time, the U.S. was in the most beneficial position, as the Second World War did not destroy its infrastructure. Moreover, the U.S. profited from the war. Very quickly, the U.S. became one of the most powerful countries in the world. The new world order was directly built under the guidance and control of the United States of America. It is important to mention that within the Horn of Africa, the countries are very much interdependent on the historical, political, economic, social, and religious levels. The scholars even state that their primary security concerns link together sufficiently closely that their national securities cannot realistically be considered apart from one another.¹⁶

Talking about the African countries, it is important to note that the U.S. wanted to be involved in these states to advance their security and economic concerns.The United States considered that the development of good relations with HoA would be very beneficial and would be a source of sustainable, healthy, and productive relations with the other African countries. In addition, the value of the HoA region was largely increased, as the region has a very close location to the main Indian Ocean trade routes and oil fields in the Middle East.¹⁷ Moreover, it has free and easy access to the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between ports in Yemen (the Arabian Peninsula) and Eritrea and Djibouti (HoA region).¹⁸ The Bab-el-Mandeb is vital for international shipping, especially to the countries of Western Europe and North America.¹⁹ Thus, during the Cold War, both the U.S. and the USSR wanted to be key players there and millions of Africans were impacted by the competition of two superpowers and their respective foreign policies in HoA countries.

1.2 Goal and Objectives of the Research

The main goal of this research is to examine the United States Foreign Policy in the Horn of Africa in the Cold War Era. Within this wider goal, the research sets the following objectives:

1.to evaluate the geostrategic significance of the Horn of Africa region;

2.to analyze the reasons and means of rivalry between the USSR and the United States in the HOA region, paying particular attention to the unfolding of the regional conflicts in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya.

3.to find out how the antagonism between the superpowers during the Cold War led to the range of negative military, economic and social consequences in the area, and are still impacting the development of the region today.

1.3 Theoretical and Practical Value of the Study

This study of U.S. foreign policy in the Horn of Africa is important theoretically and practically. From a theoretical perspective, the research might be useful for the students who specialize in international relations and who wish to discover information about the history of Africa, the development of the region, the main conflicts that are taking place there, the main powers as well as geopolitical conditions that are impacting the area. This thesis can also serve as a foundation for further research. The practical value of a further study is shaped by the fact that it might be used by the representatives of the international organizations and institutions to understand better the history of the region and therefore to implement more adapted and relevant policies to promote the development of the region and to decrease the possibility of conflicts in the area.

1.4. Methodology

The main method used within this research is the primary and secondary data analysis. According to the University of New South Wales, the primary data provides a first-hand account of an event or time period and are considered to be authoritative. They represent original thinking, reports on discoveries or events, or they can share new information.²⁰ This particular research uses interviews, official state documents, reports of governmental and non-governmental organizations for analysis. These primary sources help to reach the goal and objectives of the study.

The usage of secondary data is also equally important for realizing high-quality research. According to Johnston (2014), secondary data analysis is flexible and can be utilized in several ways, it is also an empirical exercise and a systematic method with procedural and evaluative steps.²¹ The journal articles, books, master theses, reports, credible Internet websites, and other reliable sources were the main sources that were used within the research.

Both primary and secondary sources are analyzed using qualitative data analysis techniques. For instance, comparative analysis allows comparing and contrasting the opposite sides in the foreign policy of the United States towards various countries of the Horn of Africa region. Similarly, the interdisciplinary evaluation provides the opportunity to analyze the theme from the perspectives of different disciplines, such as sociology, economics, politics, military science, etc. The study respects the quality indicators of rigor and ensures that the research design, method, and conclusions are explicit, public, replicable, open to critique, and free of bias.²²

This study