Racial justice and the Cold War : Gerald R. Ford, Rhodesia and the Geneva Conference of 1976

Abstract

This article explores the humanitarian and geopolitical rationale behind the decision of President Gerald R. Ford in placing the power and prestige of the United States, for the first time, in actively seeking an end to minority control in Rhodesia. This article specifically highlights the importance of Ford’s morality and belief in racial equality combined with the changing Cold War realities, specifically the growth of Cuban and Soviet power in southern Africa, as the major influences shaping presidential decision making. Rhodesia, given its unique legal status as an unrecognized nation and as part of the global “periphery” offered a great deal of flexibility to the White House in shaping policy. This article, therefore, not only illuminates an area of policy that has previously been somewhat overlooked by academic scholarship but further offers a deeper understanding of the Ford administration’s broader approach to foreign policy.