Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence: National, Regional, International and Transnational Perspectives

by Sue Onslow (Editor), Hugh Pattenden (Editor), Carl P. Watts (Editor)

Overview

60 years on from Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, this book brings together many important themes to examine its consequences and offer the most comprehensive overview to date.

Situating the UDI in its local, regional, international and transnational context, this collection offers a range of historical approaches; political, economic, social, cultural, international and transnational, to provide a richer and deeper understanding of the emergence of contemporary Zimbabwe.

Based on an array of rich archival and oral history sources, this book brings together new ways of understanding the multiple and complex dimensions of Rhodesia's UDI and highlights its importance to wider African and World history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781350476998
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/13/2025
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Hugh Pattenden is a Visiting Academic at the Centre for Imperial and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Southampton, an IHR Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His research on UDI has appeared in a range of journals, including the International History Review, the Journal of Contemporary History, the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, and War in History.

Carl P. Watts is an Associate Professor of National Security Studies at Air University, Global College of Professional Military Education, USA, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. His research on UDI has been published in many journals and he is also the author of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence: An International History (2012).

Sue Onslow is a Visiting Professor in the Department of Political Economy at King's College London, UK, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. A leading historian of Rhodesia's UDI, she has published extensively on Southern Africa in the Cold War era including books and in journals such as Britain and the World, Cold War History, The South African Historical Journal, The Journal of Southern African Studies, The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs, and The International History Review.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in History and Historiography

1. The Origins of Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Alois Mlambo (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
2. African Nationalist responses to Rhodesia's UDI, Hugh Pattenden (University of Southampton, UK)
3. A military history of the war for Zimbabwe, M. T. Howard (Independent Scholar)
4. 'Our Fences Protect the Nation': Security Fears and White Civilian Life During the Rhodesian Guerrilla War, Josiah Brownell (Pratt Institute New York, USA)

5. 'Stuck in the Middle' with UDI: Zambia and Rhodesia 1965–1979 Andy DeRoche (Front Range Community College, USA)
6. South Africa and Rhodesia's UDI 1964-1980, Sue Onslow (King's College London, UK)
7. “Cock-a-hoop with their success in defying world opinion”: Portugal and Rhodesia, 1961-1975, Filipe Ribeiro de Meneses and Robert McNamara (Maynooth University, Ireland, and University of Ulster, UK)
8. 'You have to boil water to make tea': the impact on cross-border raids on the Front Line States, Rhodesia and Patriotic Front negotiations, 1976-1979, Timothy Scarnecchia (Kent State University, USA)

9. Britain and the UDI, Hugh Pattenden (University of Southampton, UK)
10. The Commonwealth and Rhodesia 1965-1980, Carl P. Watts (Global College of Professional Military Education, USA)
11. UDI and the Oval Office: U.S. Policy towards Rhodesia, 1965-1979, Eddie Michel (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
12. The Soviet Union and its Allies vs Rhodesia, Vladimir Shubin (Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences).
13. Britain, Zimbabwe/Rhodesia and the Lancaster House Settlement, Sue Onslow (King's College London, UK)

14. Embargo, Interrupted: The Rhodesia Sanctions Imbroglio, Chris Dietrich (Fordham University, USA)
15. The Churches and UDI, Hugh Pattenden (University of Southampton, UK)
16. The British Anti-Apartheid Movement and the UDI, Jean P. Smith (King's College London, UK)

17. Pan-African Diplomacy, the Organisation of African Unity and UDI,” by Matteo Grilli (University of Pisa, Italy)
18. Rhodesia's Transnational Diplomacy R. Joseph Parrott (The Ohio State University, USA)

Conclusion: The Legacies of UDI

Editorial Reviews

All too often the story of how Rhodesia became Zimbabwe is told as a struggle in one country that ends in majority rule. This collection contests that with a multi-sited history in which no single nation's aspirations or actions stand alone but are in vigorous dialogue with the decolonizing world.” —Luise White, Professor Emerita, University of Florida, USA

“The aftershocks of Rhodesia's ill-fated unilateral declaration of independence continue to shape political dynamics in Zimbabwe, southern Africa, and the West. The dynamic accounts presented here enrich our understanding of the complex geopolitical dimensions through which Rhodesia's traumatic resistance against decolonization unfolded in the 1960s and 70s.” —Brooks Marmon, Research Associate, University of Pretoria, South Africa

“The chapters in this collection offer a bold and essential take on one of the most intractable episodes in the history of British decolonisation. If - as John Darwin wrote over forty years ago - Britain's decolonisation was akin to a puzzle, this collection helps us further understand how UDI - the most awkward piece of the jigsaw fits together from a regional and international perspective.” —Kate Law, Assistant Professor, University of Nottingham, UK

From the Publisher