“We Must Adapt to Survive”

Abstract

Rhodesia’s unilateral declaration of independence from Britain in 1965 and the sanctions it triggered have generated much scholarship. While the international dimension of sanctions has received substantial scholarly attention, what has been little accounted for are the various initiatives adopted by local non-state actors in pursuit of their self-interests. Covering three distinct but related phases in the history of Rhodesian sanctions—the build-up to UDI, UDI and sanctions, and the 1970s war—this paper analyses measures adopted by internal economic actors as influenced by the need to survive the exigencies of sanctions. By examining the parallel sectoral lobbying that the colony’s tobacco sector embraced to entrench its interests, the paper provides an empirical glimpse into the practical local resistance to international sanctions, and the dynamic political and economic relations it spawned. This provides a nuanced portrayal of the complexities of Rhodesian sanctions beyond the scope of orthodox international relations literature dominating much of UDI scholarship.