both the neo-colonial system in most of the nominally independent states in Black Africa and the white settlers regimes of Southern Africa. Together they represent the two main political forms by means of which international capitalism has managed to retain and consolidate its hold on Sub-Saharan Africa. Neo-colonialism and racism have in the post-war period, and in particular the probability of its leading to the development of tormations antagonistic to imperialism's interests. Which of these solutions has been historically realised has depended not only on the size of the settler minority and the level of development of African nationalism, but also on the degree of penetration of capitalist interests. For the neo-colonial alternative always contained with it the danger of the possibility of such antagonistic development (partially realised, for example, in the case of Tanzania) though the manner of the attainment of formal independance places a serious constraint on this possibility. Hence, even if it entailed building up a potential rival (in the form of a relatively independent South African national bourgeoisie) the area of the West's most vital economic interests was left firmly in racist hands. Given this secure base (South Africa) British imperialism has shown itself sufficiently flexible to be able to accommodateand use-both responses, allowing the precise form of its solution to be determined by conjunctural factors. For example, in the absence of any movement comparable to say, that of the Mau Mau in Kenya during the time of (formal) decolonisation and with this moment nc w passed a settlement legitimizing the racist solution in Zimbabwe appears imminent.
British Imperialism Dominant but Partially Displaced The present situation in Central and Southern Africa is characterised by an increasing convergence of the two solutions (under the dominance of the second)
as international capitalism seeks both to rationalise its control of Africa (partly through South Africa's diplomatic and economic offensive) and stabilise the general conditions of the realisation of capital (primarily through South Africa's military and political offensive).
A racist solution in Zimbabwe meets both of these necessities for Rhodesia not only constitutes a partthogh a peripheral part-of the centre of British imperialism in Southern Africa. British interests in a Rhodesian settlement are clear British imperialism though still dominant in Southern Africa-accounting for £1600m. worth of investment, for 60% of total foreign investment in the southern African complex as a whole (i.e. including South Africa, Namibia, and the Portuguese colonies) with over seventy of Britain's 100 largest companies having branches in this area-has been partially displaced by U.S., Western European and Japanese capitalism (a displacement which itself is a more or less inevitable concomitant of political withdrawal) with the former in particular showing a rapid rate of growth.
Secondly, it would end the embarrassing situation of having a nominally British territory effectively policed by the South African army. Given a settlement, British capitalism can sit back, arm South Africa and its satellites to the teeth, resting assured in the knowledge that South Africa possesses one of the most efficient repressive apparatuses in the world, and, in the wake of the South African dipistic control.
Neo-Colonialism Reinforces Imperialism The form of this present convergence of these two ent territories are still heavily dependent on the prodfactured goods (with some replacement of consumption by capital goods). In this way their socio-economic structure has remained essentially the same, being still orientated largely to the ex-colonial powers for capital, trade and economic advice, still more or less culturally subservient to them, still idealogically more or less in their camp (e.g. Zambian humanism'").
In fact such economic changes as have occurred have in general served only to re-inforce this pattern of dependency and in particular their attractiveness as fields of private foreign investment. Thus governments can perform certain tasks, e.g. the building up of infrastructure, impossible for private firms and impolitic for colonial offices, nationalisation can ease labour problems by bringing both the prestige, and if that fails, the power of the state to bear on them, etc. Under these conditions of sustained economic and diplomatic offensive, launched from South Africa itselfwhich must now be increasingly viewed as an independent imperial power (being the only country in Africa to have generated a relatively independent national bourgeoisie) propelled northwards by rapid growth and a high savings ratio (itself a function of a racist distribution of income) -has had a magnetic effect on independent Black Africa. Thus no sooner has Banda left South Africa thanhe was followed there by the Prime Minister of the Ivory Coast, and Amin, of Zambia complains, "you can't eat a principle" and of the start of their war. And everywhere (with the exception of Tanzanja) Bandaism seems soon to be the order of the day.
The Role of the Portuguese Territories dual function for Western Imperialism in Southern an important component of the economic centre itself (i.e. South Africa). The situation is complicated by the class is-by no means an independent bourgeoisie in the features.
diplomatic offensive it can extend and deepen its imperial.
solutions has been largely determined by the fact that the neo-colonial solution has left the classic pattern of extractive imperialism substantially unchanged. The newly independviction of a few primary commodities-still predominantly under conditions of foreign control-in exchange for manumilitary dictator of Uganda now plans a trip; the Times talks of the good that Banda has done for his country... the latter, in triumph visits Mozambique on the anniversary The Portuguese territories, like Rhodesia perform a Africa, part safety net or buffer zone, but also increasingly peculiar nature of Portugal itself. It is an under-developed country, as such though it is a colonial power, it is not an imperial power. Indeed in a sense the case of Portuguese colonies combines aspects of both the neo-colonial and racist solutions for while on the one hand they are a white settlers racist regime, but on the other hand their ruling sense that say, the South African bourgeoisie is, so that dent economic power-it also embodies aspects of the neo-colonialism situation.* From this point of view far from regarding Mozambique and Angola, as the Portuguese claim, as part of metropolitan Portugal, we should regard Portugal, given the real pattern of dependency as one of the oldest neo-colonies in the world. Theoretically then the case of the Portuguese territories, combinging features of bother the other two, is a third distinct instrument of imperial domination and control with its own distinctive The Liberation Struggle In this context, given the partial stabilisation achieved elsewhere in Africa, it is important to consider the significance of the liberation struggle in the Portuguese colonies.
*It is interesting that it was Britain's oldest ally that Ricardo in his rationalisation of the case for free trade contemptuously assigned to the role of production of wine in exchange for English manufactured goods; thus presaging a pattern reduplicated again and again in its imperialist relations with the Third World. The war has been going on in Angola for the last ten years, Guine, eight years, Mozambique seven years. In Angola, which is the most important economically, with large oil, iron and diamond resources and heavy investment by Western European and American capitalism, e.g. Gulf Oil, the West German Krupp empire, Diamang, etc. M.P.L.A. was founded in 1955 and had been doing a lot of clandestine urban preparatory work before armed struggle was launched with an attack on Luanda prison (Luanda is the capital). It began as an urban based organisation but since 1961 and the massive repressions of the Portuguese army, 3000 gunned down in Luanda, a further 5,000 in Baixa de Cassange, it has been engaged in armed struggle in the rural areas as well as clandestine work in the towns. In the case of the Mozambiquean movement, FRELIMO, many of those wo first came together to form it, had had their first political experiences in the towns of the south, e.g. the mass arrests and shootings of strikers in Lourenco Marques in 1956 and 63 but FRELIMO itself was not actually first organised in the towns; its first engagements took place in 1964 in northern parts of Mozambique. Three Types of Activity There are three broad types of political and military activity, depending on for example strategic location, proximity of friendly borders, type of terrain, level of colonial pentration, type of economic activity etc. going on within both countries although with differing intensity and relative importance.
Firstly, the areas of maximum control by the guerrillas. Here the Portuguese have been successfully driven back to their major garrisons and their counter-offensives reduced to bombing raids, including in the case of Angola, chemical warfare. All colonial institutions, administrative and economic, eg. Western owned sugar plantations in northern Mozambique have been destroyed. The guerrillas military offensives at this stage, are to eliminate those remaining garrisons.
When the Portuguese hemmed in and on the defensive in this way the revolutionary forms of social organisation, which includes co-operative forms of economic production and both technical and political education are relatively stable. These areas are key for the training of cadres, and for economic production that is intended to play an increasing role in supporting the struggle as well as laying the basis for the post-revolutionary society. In these areas people of all ages are being given primary education for the first time and receiving their first medical attention. In this sense the revolutionary movements are waging a double struggle against both traditional and colonial social structures and practices (the latter having exacerbated many of the worst features of the former, e.g. tribalism). In these areas some elemants of the Portuguese petit bourgeoisie (e.g. small traders, bush store-keepers etc.) who are completely isolated from the main areas of Portuguese settlements co-operate with the guerrillas passing them information about enemy troop movements, casualties, etc.
This stage has been reached in Niassa, Cabo Delgado and Northern Tete provinces in Mozambique and in the Eastern region and certain parts of Cabinda province in Angola.
The second type is in rural areas further into the interior where guerrillas are in the process of mobilising.
or have the political support of the people and are engaged in isolating the Portuguese and forcing them back to their garrison towns, cutting them off from the surrounding area by mining the roads, preparing ambushes, etc. and also training the peoples militia, deepening the politicisation of the people, helping with setting up of primary schools, dispensaries elementary economic production and in the case of Angola revolutionary instruction centres.
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Two Forms of Domination: Racism and Neo-Colonialism In the past decade there has been an entrenchment of
represented the two predominant responses to the problem posed for imperialism by the rise of African nationalism