Tanzanian Popular Responses to International Political Events

Abstract

Although people in Tanzania have been active in international affairs, studies on their behaviour and responses are limited.  This article therefore is an attempt to contribute to this subject.  It maps out the popular attitudes and responses towards international political events covering the period between 1990 and 2010.  It argues that people in Tanzania demonstrate ability to perceive and react to events happening away from home.  Their reactions are against wars and oppression, and support for liberation struggles and maintenance of sovereign rights among Third World states.  This tradition has roots to the national liberation era.  Much as the tradition survives today, the post-1990s social-economic changes pose challenges to its sustenance as society slips into theocratic divisions, amount others.