ISJ Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
From International Socialism (1st series), No.29, Summer 1967, p.3.
Thanks to Ted Crawford & the late Will Fancy.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.
Afro-Asia and Non-Alignment
G.H. Jansen
Faber, 45s
Jansen illustrates the conviction that liberals and progressives share the illusions of the leaders they admire. His book reveals in a somewhat laboured fashion the pressures on and manoeuvres of politicians of varying degrees of awareness in situations of so-called independence. Nationalist fervour and economic backwardness and dependence are discussed by the author from his experience of the position of the ruling Indian elite, but his tendency to see simply personalities running affairs rather than states of affairs affecting personal-political decisions is depressing but not totally unexpected.
On the other hand, as an ex-diplomat and now journalist for The Statesman of New Delhi, Mr Jansen is able to locate some of the reasons for the disintegration of the naïve myths of non-alignment and Afro-Asian-Arab solidarity. While it is not difficult to support this conclusion, the analysis and reasons displayed tend to be of the ‘I remember Nehru’ type and do not contemplate the political and economic forces tying the hands of the political optimists who fought for and, gained a phony independence.
ISJ Index | Main Newspaper Index
Encyclopedia of Trotskyism | Marxists’ Internet Archive
Last updated on 6 May 2010