George Padmore and Decolonisation from Below: Pan-Africanism, the Cold War, and the End of Empire

From his base in London the Trinidad-born Marxist, George Padmore, was a central figure of mid-twentieth century pan-Africanism who became critically involved in debates about the nature and practice of European imperialism. Focusing on Padmore's political manoeuvring, Leslie James traces his politics through the ongoing influences of the Caribbean and the legacy of the Garvey movement; the international communist movement and Soviet decolonization; debates about fascism and colonialism; the new 'reform' rhetoric apparent in World War II; the beginnings of the Cold War; and, pivotally, post-war African politics that confronted a wealth of new dynamics including independent Ghana, apartheid South Africa, and the Mau Mau Emergency in Kenya. Within the ideas and political practice of this forthright man lie a number of common questions about the circulation of ideas, the shape of black radical thought, and the weight of Cold War politics within the modern history of European imperialism and the end of empire.