Fighting the Red Peril in the Congo: Paradox and Perspectives on an Equivocal Challenge to Belgium and the West, 1947-1960

A study of the Belgian fight against communism in the Congo can uncover the deeper workings of Belgian colonial ‘foreign’ policy. The principles guiding Belgium and its Western partners in their war against the ‘red threat’ give us vital clues to understanding how Belgian governance worked, and shed new light on the Congolese crisis of 1960–61. This article also gives examples of strategies and influences at play during the Cold War, and significant both for the countries developing them and for those which suffered the consequences.