Open Access

Thorsten Kern

• Namibias main liberation movement, the South West Africa Peoples Organisation (SWAPO), relied heavily on outside support for its armed struggle against South Africas occupation of what it called South West Africa. While East Germanys solidarity with Namibias struggle for national self-determination has received attention, little research has been done on West Germanys policy towards Namibia, which must be seen against the backdrop of inter-German rivalry. The impact of the wider realities of the Cold War on Namibias rocky path to independence leaves ample room for research and new interpretations. In West Germany and Namibias Path to Independence, 1969-1990: Foreign Policy and Rivalry with East Germany, Thorsten Kern shows that German division played a vital role in West Germanys position towards Namibia during the Cold War. West German foreign policy towards Namibia, at the height of the Namibian liberation struggle, is investigated and discussed against the backdrop of rivalry with East Germany. The two states deeply diverging policies, characterised in this context by competition for infuence over SWAPO, were strongly affected by the Cold War rivalry between the capitalist West and the communist East. Yet ultimately the dynamics of rapprochement helped to bring about Namibias independence. This book is based upon a doctoral dissertation presented to the University of Cape Town in 2016. Kern conducted research in the National Archives of Namibia and in German archives and his work draws on interviews with contemporary witnesses.