The National Liberation Movements in Southern Africa, 1962-1975: An Assessment of the Significance of the UN's Acceptance of Recognition by the OAU of the Movements

In international politics, law and relations recognition takes place when an existing government announces that another political entity has become a sovereign state. Suddenly, government office holders and the people they represent are treated on par with the main actors in world politics--a necessary precondition for representative democracy. In that situation, the psychological satisfaction of being seen as a state equal to others is accompanied by a string of material effects, such as legal protection against foreign aggressors, financial and technical support from international organisations, enhanced control over natural resources, authorisation to print money and to sell it abroad, and much more. One of the major areas in which this kind of paradox is being manifested relates to the significance of the UN's acceptance by the OAU of the national liberation movements in southern Africa. This recognition was 'readily' and 'incontestably' accepted by the United Nations (UN). Arguably, the UN's acceptance of the recognition by the OAU of the movements would significantly transform the diplomacy of Africa's liberation. A proper starting point for assessing the significance of the UN's acceptance of OAU recognition of the movements is to examine the world body's efforts to secure the participation of the movements in its deliberations and proceedings on colonial matters. This paper assesses the significance of the UN's acceptance of recognition by the OAU of the national liberation movements. It reveals that the UN's acceptance of OAU recognition of the movements transformed the diplomacy of Africa's liberation. The paper used qualitative research methods to assess the significance of the UN's acceptance of recognition by the OAU of the liberation movements. Sources used for such an assessment included published books, journals, archives, internet sources, and press releases. The article sheds light on international policymaking.