Title: The Cold War in Independent Africa – Writing Anthology
Headings: The Cold War in Independent Africa
Writing Anthology
The Cold War in Independent Africa
Works Cited

Content: 3) No communist nation had ever been a colonial power in Africa; and (4) Africans admired the rapid development in the Soviet Union and saw it as a model for their own development (Brzezinski, 205-207). Nevertheless, the Soviets felt frustrated in their attempts to realize this ideological opportunity. Indeed, the realities of African politics failed to fit in the limited conceptions of either the Soviet Union or the United States. Gaining independence in 1957, Ghana was in the vanguard of the African nationalist movement Kwame Nkrumah emerged as the leader of the new nation. Although Nkrumah’s party held 71 out of 104 seats in parliament, his electoral mandate was not great. Nkrumah’s party won only 57 percent of the vote and was defeated In northern Ghana (Mazrui and Tidy, 59). The reasons for opposition to Nkrumah stemmed from tribalism and the effects of indirect rule. Under British colonial rule, Ashanti chiefs in the north had maintained much of their power. “ Nkrumah’s agitation for independence and centralized rule threatened to undo this arrangement” (Mahoney, 160).