African Activists in a Decolonising World: The Making of an Anticolonial Culture, 1952-1966

Activists from East and Central Africa in the 1950s and 1960s sought to play a role in the global anticolonial landscape. Ismay Milford's book presents a social and intellectual history of decolonisation and anticolonialism, reconstructing the anticolonial culture that underpinned their journeys. She highlights the limits of transnational and international activism, offering a critical perspective on the global history of anticolonial work and thought.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 09 March 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

As the post-war world reeled from the waves of liberation wars in Africa and Asia, a cohort of activists from East and Central Africa, particularly the region encompassing present-day Malawi, Zambia, Uganda, and mainland Tanzania, pondered their role in the global anticolonial landscape. Through the lens of these activists, Ismay Milford presents a comprehensive social and intellectual history of decolonization and anticolonialism in the 1950s and 1960s. Drawing upon extensive multi-archival research, she brings together the trajectories of these activists for the first time, reconstructing the anticolonial culture that shaped their journeys to Delhi, Cairo, London, Accra, and beyond. These activists formed committees and published pamphlets, collaborating with pan-African and Afro-Asian solidarity projects, Cold War student internationals, spiritual internationalists, and diverse pressure groups. Milford argues that a focus on their everyday labor and knowledge production sheds light on certain limitations of transnational and international activism, offering a critical, albeit less heroic, perspective on the global history of anticolonial work and thought.

ISBN-13: 9781009276993