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Advocacy Organisations, the British Labour Movement and the Struggle for Independence in Rhodesia, 1965-1980

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Advocacy Organisations, the British Labour Movement and the Struggle for Independence in Rhodesia, 1965-1980 Advocacy organisations, the British labour movement and the struggle for independence in Rhodesia, 1965-1980 By Charlie Eperon A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Central Lancashire School of Education and Social sciences November 2015 STUDENT DECLARATION FORM Concurrent registration for two or more academic awards I, Charlie Eperon, declare that while registered for the research degree, I was with the University’s specific permission, an enrolled student for the following awards: Postgraduate Diploma in Health Informatics, UCL Postgraduate Certificate in Healthcare Leadership, Open University ____________________________________________________________________ Material submitted for another award I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work ____________________________________________________________________ Collaboration Where a candidate’s research programme is part of a collaborative project, the thesis must indicate in addition clearly the candidate’s individual contribution and the extent of the collaboration. Please state below: Signature of Candidate Type of Award Doctor of Philosophy School Education and Social Abstract This thesis discusses the struggle for independence in Rhodesia, from the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965 to internationally recognised independence in 1980. Whilst there are many existing accounts and discussions of the Rhodesia crisis, there is very little work that considers the role of advocacy organisations and the pressure they exerted on successive Governments and the broader left in Britain, and little consideration of the African nationalist movement outside of Rhodesia or the nationalist bases in neighbouring countries. The thesis builds on existing literature by considering how interest in the Rhodesia issue amongst advocacy organisations and the labour movement in Britain fluctuated over this 15 year period, according to key events in the timeline of the transition from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe. It examines the methods used by advocacy organisations in campaigning on the Rhodesia issue, arguing that they were constrained by pragmatism and adherence to familiar methods of campaigning, as well as a lack of will to break with these methods, one of which was to involve the labour movement and utilise their established networks to publicise the cause. This tactic was met with limited success because, for the majority of the period under consideration, the British labour movement was broadly disengaged with the Rhodesia issue, with other primarily domestic concerns taking precedence, although certain individuals gave ardent support to the cause. The rhetoric of the more middle class led advocacy organisations generally failed to find traction with much of the labour movement. Meanwhile, the African nationalist movement focused its attentions on the British Labour Party in the belief that they were the real power brokers, and maintained a polite relationship with its representatives, whilst espousing a strong anti-British rhetoric back in Rhodesia. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................................................1 List of acronyms ...................................................................................................................................2 Chapter 1: Introduction .......................................................................................................................5 Literature Review .............................................................................................................................7 British Policy in Existing Literature ...............................................................................................7 Rhodesia .................................................................................................................................... 14 The Guerrilla War ...................................................................................................................... 14 The nationalist struggle and Rhodesian society ....................................................................... 16 Divisions in the Nationalist Movement ..................................................................................... 17 The advent of UDI ......................................................................................................................... 18 Grand Narratives ....................................................................................................................... 20 Gaps in literature ...................................................................................................................... 22 Structure and Research questions ................................................................................................ 23 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 27 Terminology .............................................................................................................................. 31 Organisational Biographies ....................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 2 – Topographies of Support ............................................................................................... 46 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 46 UDI onwards, 1965-66 .............................................................................................................. 48 From Tiger into Fearless, 1966-68 ............................................................................................ 55 Post-Fearless, 1969-71 .............................................................................................................. 62 Renewed negotiations, 1971-72 ............................................................................................... 66 Post-Pearce, 1973-76 ................................................................................................................ 72 From the Kissinger initiative to Lancaster House, 1976-1980 .................................................. 76 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 84 Chapter 3: ‘A Peculiarly British Responsibility’? - Advocacy methods and the struggle for a democratic Rhodesia ........................................................................................................................ 86 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 86 Resource mobilisation theory ................................................................................................... 90 Advocacy Methodology ............................................................................................................ 95 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 119 Chapter 4: The British labour movement and the Search for a Solution to the Rhodesia Crisis .... 123 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 123 Labour Party relationships ...................................................................................................... 124 Trade union relationships ....................................................................................................... 147 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 155 Chapter 5 – Radicalism as strategy? The anti-British rhetoric of the African nationalist movement ........................................................................................................................................................ 159 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 159 The issue of factionalism in existing literature ....................................................................... 160 Another Fault Line? ................................................................................................................. 162 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 173 Chapter 6 – Case Study: The Pearce Commission ........................................................................... 182 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 182 The Pearce Commission .......................................................................................................... 184 Beyond the ‘grand narrative’? ................................................................................................ 189 Legacy of the Pearce Commission .......................................................................................... 215 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................
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