Finland and National Liberation In South Africa

This report is part of the Nordic Africa Institute's research project "National Liberation in Southern Africa: The Role of the Nordic Countries". It shows that international politics is not completely determined by hard power play between state machines: softer human rights considerations are not merely propaganda but do carry real weight. Finland is presently run by a generation of politicians to whom international contacts have been natural from youth onward. The study shows that many of them were 'idealists' to whom the liberation struggle represented a long-lasting commitment to development cooperation. It is clear that the very foundations of today's relations with developing countries were created via the experience of the liberation struggle in Africa and in other continents, too, not forgetting the Vietnam war. The study also shows that, although it is not an easy task, in a democracy ordinary, dedicated people can, over time, influence political decision making at its most closed and guarded area of all, foreign politics.


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