“Welcome, Ali, Please go Home”: Muhammad Ali as Diplomat and African Debates on the 1980 Moscow Olympic Boycott

To rally support within Africa for America’s boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games, President Carter sent Muhammad Ali as his personal diplomat to Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal in an attempt to gain political and popular support for the boycott. The mission had limited success, but it...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrican studies review Vol. 66; no. 2; pp. 490 - 508
Main Author Ivey, James Alexander
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.06.2023
Subjects
Apartheid
Boycotts
Cold War
Editorials
Foreign policy
Olympic games
Presidents
Public opinion
Canada
Liberia
Afghanistan
United States > US
Senegal
Africa
Tanzania
Montreal Quebec Canada
Nigeria
Kenya
diplomacy
non-alignment
boycott
sport
apartheid
human rights
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Summary:To rally support within Africa for America’s boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games, President Carter sent Muhammad Ali as his personal diplomat to Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Liberia, and Senegal in an attempt to gain political and popular support for the boycott. The mission had limited success, but it inspired a public forum across the continent for criticisms of American foreign policy toward Africa. By analyzing these discussions, primarily within the press, Ivey shows how America was interpreted in Africa and how the issues of the Cold War were considered of secondary importance to the more immediate struggle against apartheid and independent foreign policy.
ISSN:0002-0206
1555-2462
DOI:10.1017/asr.2022.111