The problem with examining contemporary international politics is that work when published is already out of date. This will be particularly so when attempting to investigate current developments in Eastern Europe and in southern Africa and the Horn. Indeed, since the preparation of the typescript, dramatic events have occurred in the GDR. Erich Honecker was forced to ‘retire’ from the SED Politburo and Egon Krenz became new party leader on 18 October 1989. The change of leadership resulted in sweeping personnel changes in the government and Politbüro and led to the introduction of a number of political and economic reforms. The opening of the borders between the two Germanies has made the Berlin Wall to all intents and purposes redundant. And then, on 3 December 1989 it was dramatically announced that Krenz and the top party leadership had resigned due to popular pressure.

As yet, these internal developments have not seriously affected the nature of the GDR's involvement in Africa. However, for practical purposes, I have decided to keep in the text the original names and titles of key East German officials although many of these individuals no longer hold office. Hence, throughout the text, Honecker is still referred to as SED General Secretary.

Despite recent events this work remains, to the best of my knowledge, the first full account in the English language of GDR foreign policy in Africa. Originally written as a Ph.D. thesis, and although considerably revised, I have maintained for the benefit of the specialised reader a certain amount of detail along with footnotes. However, I hope that this work will also attract the general reader interested in the GDR.