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 | | American Policy and African Famine: The Nigeria-Biafra War, 1966-1970 (Contributions in Afro-American and African Studies) by Joseph E Thompson ISBN-10: 9780313272189 ISBN-10: 0-313-27218-2 ISBN-13: 9780313272189 ISBN-13: 978-0-313-27218-9 Hardcover 1990-04-17 Greenwood Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description In the summer of 1968 as killing and starvation escalated in Biafra in a war that used famine as a weapon, the West African conflict attracted media attention and U.S. officials felt strong domestic pressure to expand American involvement in Nigeria's civil war. The official U.S. policy of neutrality eventually encompassed an activist policy of humanitarian assistance for Biafra. Joseph E. Thompson's comprehensive study describes the events and decisions that led to increased American involvement in the Nigeria/Biafra War of 1966-1970--a complex period during which the U.S. was attempting to extricate itself from involvement in Vietnam. Professor Thompson provides a thorough examination of both the domestic and international pressures that resulted in dichotomous U.S. policies and analyzes the reasons for their longevity. The volume's contribution to an understanding of U.S. policy formation is important because the U.S. is the major respondent to international famine, one of the most serious contemporary problems of the developing world. An introductory essay, surveys the Nigerian political system and military coups of 1966 and details initial U.S. responses to these violent changes. An Epilogue scrutinizes the increased U.S. public and private relief for Biafra and compares it to the present African famine situation. The first three chapters consider the contrasting perceptions of Nigeria transmitted to Washington, detail both internal and external disruptions caused by Nigerian military activity, and review attempts to resolve the fratricidal conflict. Evolving U.S. policy, the role of church relief groups on governmental, technological and logistical obstacles, and bureaucratic roadblocks inherent in the structures of both government and humanitarian groups are explored in the next three chapters. Chapter 7 zeroes in on U.S. diplomatic efforts to skirt humanitarian issues, and Chapter 8 assesses U.S. difficulties in following a course of political non-involvement in Nigeria while supplying humanitarian relief to Biafra. Fifteen valuable tables and figures and 5 maps complete this distinguished contribution to African Studies literature. | ||
Reviews | ||
The Biafran Genocide I do not really wish to write a review as such. However, I would like to correct the impression that have always been attached to what happened in Nigeria between 1967-70. What happened was not a civil war. The war wasn't a civil one, it was actually a genocidal war against a people who had refused to participate in the corruption that went on at the time in Nigeria. Of course, since the collapse of Biafra, the true nature of things in Nigeria have become clearly known by those of us in this country who have no way of knowing goes on in that part of the world. This is the impression that I got reading this book? | ||