Robert O. Matthews

From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe: Prerequisites of a Settlement

On 21 December 1979 the Lancaster House accords were signed. Two months later, during the last three days of February 1980, elections were held and Robert Mugabe, the leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union (zanu), emerged victorious. Following a brief period of British rule, the reins of power in Rhodesia were transferred peacefully from the white minority regime of Ian Smith to representatives of the black majority. What had earlier appeared to be an irreconcilable conflict between two incompatible goals continuing white domination and black majority rule was thus resolved at the ballot box rather than from the barrel of a gun. How did this transfer come about? What conditions and

Interstate Conflicts in Africa: A Review

The literature reviewed in this article focuses on the question of interstate conflict in Africa. There may be some doubt as to the particular interest that such a body of work might hold for those not initiated in the “mysterious†ways of Africa. Certainly Africanists have all too frequently assumed as much, and students of international relations have often readily concurred in this judgment. In no area of the world is William T. R. Foxs assessment that regional studies have tended to be “written in a comparative politics rather than an international relations context†more accurate. In contrast to this widely held view it is the contention of the present writer that the study of interstate conflict in Africa should be and, in fact, is of immense interest both to the scholar and the practitioner of international relations.

The Suez Canal Dispute: A Case Study in Peaceful Settlement

If the United Nations system is to outlaw the unilateral use of force, except in cases of self-defense, it is clear that some provision must be made for the peaceful settlement of disputes and for peaceful change. In the past, peacekeeping operations have often succeeded in restoring a fragile peace. Yet collective actionall too frequently has been limited to a restoration of the status quo ante. Indeed, states have usuallyfailed to accept any collective responsibility to deal with the grievances that initially led to the outbreak of hostilities. If peace is to be maintained over any extended period of time, peacekeeping operations must not, asAmbassador Arthur J. Goldberg recently warned, “be a sofa to provide a comfortable respite from efforts atpeaceful settlement†but instead should “be a springboard for accelerated efforts to eliminate the root causes of conflict.â€

Canada's Relations With Africa

Since 1970, when I last wrote in the pages of this journal about our relations with Africa, Canada has broadened the scope of its ties both geographically and functionally, increased the magnitude of its aid programmes, and become more deeply involved in African affairs, most notably in the continental problems of colonial rule, racial discrimination, and extreme poverty. In the past five years, for instance, Ottawa has opened diplomatic posts in Abidjan (1970), Algiers (1971), Lusaka (1972), and Rabat (1974), which together with the ten already in place provide Canada with an extensive network of communications in Africa.