Decolonizing Diplomacy: Senghor, Kennedy, and the Practice of Ideological Resistance

At the turn of the 1960s, Léopold Sédar Senghor and John F. Kennedy vowed to radically transform African foreign policy. Through a close reading of a recently declassified correspondence and a historical analysis of two behind-the-scenes negotiations, Senghor’s first state visit to the U.S. and Kenn...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inAfrican studies review Vol. 64; no. 2; pp. 292 - 314
Main Author Ripert, Yohann C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, USA Cambridge University Press 01.06.2021
Subjects
Cold War
Colonialism
Correspondence
Decolonization
Diplomacy
Diplomatic & consular services
Ethics
Foreign policy
Historical analysis
Humanities
Ideology
Negotiation
Policy making
Politics
Public figures
Radicalism
Senghor, Leopold Sedar (1906-2001)
State visits
Transformation
France
United States > US
Senegal
Africa
Negritude
decolonization
diplomacy
First World Festival of Negro Arts
ideology
foreign policy
Senghor
Kennedy
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:At the turn of the 1960s, Léopold Sédar Senghor and John F. Kennedy vowed to radically transform African foreign policy. Through a close reading of a recently declassified correspondence and a historical analysis of two behind-the-scenes negotiations, Senghor’s first state visit to the U.S. and Kennedy’s support for the First World Festival of Negro Arts, Ripert examines the private and public concatenations that lead both statesmen to transform policymaking not by implementing new policies but by challenging inherited ideologies. Though their efforts did not always bring successful change in policymaking, the diplomatic correspondence between the two newly elected leaders reveals a more subtle and sustainable transformation: a decolonization of diplomacy.
ISSN:0002-0206
1555-2462
DOI:10.1017/asr.2020.91