'We should not sit in judgement on a difficult social and political problem six thousand miles away.' Dwight D. Eisenhower and apartheid South Africa

Abstract

My article explores how geostrategic and economic factors dictated the nature of the bilateral relationship between Washington and Pretoria during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. In the context of the early Cold War, the vehement anti-communism of the National Party government combined with the vast mineral wealth of the apartheid state led to friendly relations with the practitioners of apartheid. The growth in trade and investment ties further tightened the bond between the two nations. While the Eisenhower administration occasionally offered a mild critique of South African racial policy, the White House sought no tangible disassociation from Pretoria even in the aftermath of the shootings at Sharpeville.