Larry Bowman discussed Cold War politics and decolonization in the Indian Ocean. Using the case of the Chagos archipelago, whose excision from Mauritius was set as a condition for Mauritian independence, Bowman showed how military build up in the area was based more on perceived and potential threat from the Soviet Union than from reality (the Soviet Navy was the least funded and developed of the Soviet armed forces of the time). Through decolonization and cold war politics, the United States has replaced Britain as the superpower of the region.

Bowman focused his discussion on Diego Garcia, which was leased by the British to the U.S. for use as a military base in the 1960s. The subsequent relocation of Diego Garcia's entire indigenous population—2,000 people to Mauritius and 500 to the Seychelles—has, after decades of internatiinal activism, finally resulted in British citizenship for Diego Garcians in 2002, along with an apology from the British government. Reparations are presently being sought from the United States.

A suggested reading for the Diego Garcia conflict is: "The Indian Ocean: A New Naval Arms Race?" in The Defense Monitor, vol. 3, no. 3, April 1974.

After morning and afternoon discussions of the Cold War, Bowman exhibited and discussed approximately twenty Indian ocean maps and city-views from his private collection of sixteenth- through nineteenth-century prints.

Reading List:

There is obviously a huge literature on the Cold War; here I have limited my scope to works specifically focused on Cold War issues in the Indian Ocean.

Anyangwe, Carlson. "The Chagos Archipelago: Decolonisation and Human Rights," Observer Special Report, vol 5 (September 2001), 13 pp. http://www.oneworld.org/afronet/hro_vol5/volume5_3.htm

Beazley Kim C. and Ian Clark, Politics of Intrusion: The Super Powers and the Indian Ocean (Sydney, Alternative Publishing 1979).

Bezboruah, Monoranjan. U.S. Strategy in the Indian Ocean: The International Response (New York, Praeger, 1977).
A broad early review of both regional and extra-regional responses to the USA naval build-up and the emergence of Diego Garcia.

Bowman, Larry W. and Ian Clark, eds. The Indian Ocean in Global Politics (Boulder, Westview, 1981). Eleven chapters on IO strategic concerns.

Braun, Dieter. The Indian Ocean: Region of Conflict or 'Zone of Peace'? (London, Hurst, 1982). Focuses on the strategic and security interests of both regional and extra-regional powers.

Bruce, Robert H. Indian Ocean Navies: Technological Advances and Regional Security (Perth, Centre for IO Regional Studies, 1990).

Bunge, Frederica M. Indian Ocean: Five Island States (Washington, D.C., USGPO, 1982). Chapters on Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, Maldives, and Strategic Considerations, plus tables and detailed bibliography. Published by the Dept. of the Army in its Area Handbook Series. Other editions of this book were published in 1971 and 1995.

Cottrell Alvin J., and associates. Sea Power and Strategy in the Indian Ocean (Beverly Hills, Sage, 1981). Focuses on the 'arc of crisis' in the Red Sea/Persian Gulf.

Cottrell, Alvin J. and R. M. Burrell, The Indian Ocean: Its Political, Economic, and Military Importance (New York, Praeger, 1972). Twenty-three chapters providing the first broad overview of the IO in international politics during the Cold War.

Dowdy, William L. and Russell B. Trood, eds. The Indian Ocean Perspectives on a Strategic Arena (Durham, Duke UP, 1985). Thirty chapters, comprehensively looking at strategic concerns throughout the entire ocean.

Hoare, Michael. The Seychelles Affair (New York, Bantam, 1986). A detailed account of the November 1981 coup attempt and its aftermath by the mercenary leader. A Cold War tale if there ever was one.

Jawatkar, K. S. Diego Garcia in International Diplomacy (Bombay, Popular Prakashan, 1983). Broad early review of the Diego story.

Mockler, Anthony. The New Mercenaries: The History of the Hired Soldier from the Congo to the Seychelles (New York, Paragon, 1985).

Shepherd, George W. Jr. The Trampled Grass: Tributary States and Self-Reliance in the Indian Ocean Zone of Peace (Westport, Greenwood, 1987). Focuses on efforts of IO states to avoid superpower domination and control.

Tahtinen, Dale R. Arms in the Indian Ocean: Interests and Challenges (Washington, D.C., American Enterprise Institute, 1977).

Towle, Philip. Naval Power in the Indian Ocean: Threats, Bluffs, and Fantasies (Canberra, Australia National University, 1979).

Vali, Ferenc A. Politics of the Indian Ocean Region: The Balances of Power (New York, Free Press, 1976).

Weinberg, Samantha. Last of the Pirates: The Search for Bob Denard (London, Jonathan Cape, 1994).
The amazing story of the mercenaries who ran the Comoros from 1978-1989.

Home | Bose | Spodek | Wilkinson | Watson | Spooner | Alpers
Pinto-Orton | Margariti | Brancaccio | Behrendt | Nichols| Nair
Schiffman |Omar | Askew | Muller | Lees | Cassanelli
Bowman | Heston | Hagerty

Larry Bowman

Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Contemporary African Studies

University of Connecticut

The web sites include links to sites outside the control of the author. The author is not responsible for information on these or other such linked sites. Please respect the copyright notices attached to the Web Sites you view.