Ogaden War as the Cornerstone of Cold War Détente Politics

Horn of Africa still faces serious regional conflicts, and needs a detailed historical analysis regarding the Cold War era. Historical research shows that despite the era of détente, new Soviet geopolitical successes were demonstrated. This study examines reasons for Siad Barre's destabilizing efforts to liberate all Somalis, and establish "Greater Somalia". It also tries to find answer how the Soviet Union, which had favoured Somalia previously, switched to the new socialist government in Ethiopia, and why Washington became an ally of Somalia. Due to the massive large-scale military operation aided by the Soviet Union and Cuba, the Somali army was totally defeated. Subsequently, the attack has worsened the country's foreign relations with other states, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) has remained divided in the case. In the present study the author attempts to capture the main points of Ogaden conflict by exploring different aspects of foreign interventions in Cold War geopolitical playground, how these factors have led to the fall of déténte politics. Keywords: Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, Greater Somalia, détente, Cold War history