Sunday, January 12, 2014

New military history research: Angolan civil war, MI5 operating abroad and Christianity and its political use during WWII


The International History Review presents a number of interesting abstracts.



The first abstract addresses a study of the use of British mercenaries in the Angolan civil war of 1975-76.  The author has looked into the question of whether the British government was involved in this involvement of British mercenaries and decides that it was not involved.  Rather the mercenaries were driven by their own personal interests.  However, the the piece explains that this involvement did cause tensions between the dominant political parties of Britain at the time.



 The next abstract addresses the activities of the British Security Service, MI5, in colonial territories and in independent foreign territories in the Middle East.  The author believes that these activities were aimed at Communism in the areas of focus but that hostility towards Britain in these places limited MI5’s effectiveness.



Another abstract explores how Christianity was utilized for political reasons during and after World War II.  Stalin was religious and some leaders beloved Christianity could be used to build a political and cultural bridge between the Soviet Union and the West.  However, soon after the war, Christianity was used as a reason to fear and despise the Soviet Union and ultimately this approach caused a stronger rift between the East and West in the post war era.
The village priest is awarded the medal "To the partisan of the Patriotic War (Second Grade)" 
pre-1954 image


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