Editing Foreign relations of Senegal (section)

=== Cold War Foreign Policy ===
During the [[Cold War]], Senegal was part of the non-aligned world and remained neutral throughout the conflict. In 1965, the first Foreign Minister of Senegal, [[Doudou Thiam]], published a book titled "The Foreign Policy of African States."<ref name=":022">{{Cite book |last=Thiam |first=Doudou |title=The Foreign Policy of African States: Ideological Bases, Present Realities, and Future Prospects |publisher=Praeger |year=1965 |isbn=978-0-8371-8555-2 |location=New York}}</ref> Thiam implored Africa to move beyond the ideological divisions of the Cold War to form a third neutral ideology on which African states could build their own path.<ref name=":022" /> This concept of non-alignment became a central theme in Senegalese politics. Senegal's first President [[Léopold Sédar Senghor|Léopold Sedar Sénghor]] privileged the country's relationship with France and sided with French President Charles de Gaulle against "superpower" domination between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.<ref name=":0"/> France accounted for 95% of all investments in Senegal and 80% of Senegal's foreign trade in the 1960s.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal |last=Steele |first=Robert |date=2020-08-20 |title=The Keur Farah Pahlavi Project and Iranian-Senegalese Relations in the 1970s |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0021086200041001/type/journal_article |journal=Iranian Studies |language=en |volume=54 |issue=1–2 |pages=169–192 |doi=10.1080/00210862.2020.1792768 |s2cid=225244330 |issn=0021-0862}}</ref> Due to the close economic relationship between France and Senegal, Senegal appealed to French protectionism over West Africa, declining to move too closely to any superpower. Nonetheless, Senegal's ties with Western countries like France tilted its alignment westward.

==== "La Francophonie" ====
One of the important strategic goals of Senegalese leaders was the integration and cooperation of Francophone Africa; a policy known as "la Francophonie" coined by President Senghor.<ref name=":0" /> The promotion of this concept played a key role in the formation of worldwide summits, such as the Franco-African Summit, that allowed Senegal to emerge as a leader within the [[francophone]] movement in Africa, African consolidation, unification and cooperation are at the center of Senegalese foreign policy.<ref name=":0" /> Senegal was also one of the founding members of several organizations designed to integrate Francophone Africa, including the African and Malagasy Common Organization in 1961 and the Malian Federation in 1960.<ref name=":422">{{Cite web |last=Walters |first=Kurt Cornelis Frederik |date=June 1966 |title=The Mali Federation: A Case Study for Political Integration |url=https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1794/5886/Mali_federation.pdf;sequence=1 |access-date=April 27, 2022}}</ref><ref name=":3222">{{Citation |last1=Vinokurov |first1=Evgeny |title=Dissolution of Regional Organizations |date=2017 |work=Re-Evaluating Regional Organizations |pages=211–222 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=978-3-319-53054-3 |last2=Libman |first2=Alexander|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-53055-0_13 }}</ref>

==== "Négritude" ====
Another cornerstone of Senegalese foreign policy during the Cold War was the exemplification of African Art and international cultural ties. This was connected to President Senghor's ideology of "Negritude" which emphasized Pan-Africanism and the exceptionalism of African culture.<ref name=":0" /> In 1966, the [[First World Festival of Negro Arts]] was hosted in Dakar, Senegal.<ref name=":112">{{Cite thesis |last=Taylor |first=Lauren Elizabeth |date=2019 |title=The Art of Diplomacy in Dakar: The International Politics of Display at the 1966 Premier Festival Mondial des Arts Negroes. |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/1x92f92j |journal=UCLA}}</ref> The event was a tribute the art and excellence of the African Diaspora across the world. In the development of the event, Senegal strengthened relations with the UN, African states like Ethiopia, and nations on both sides of the Cold War.<ref name=":112" /> The United States was one of the key supporters of the event, sending the largest delegation of performers, artists, and technician of any of the 43 participating nations.<ref name=":1222">{{Cite journal |last=Ripert |first=Yohann C. |date=2021-01-05 |title=Decolonizing Diplomacy: Senghor, Kennedy, and the Practice of Ideological Resistance |journal=African Studies Review |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=292–314 |doi=10.1017/asr.2020.91 |s2cid=234247930 |issn=0002-0206}}</ref> Despite an official policy of non-alignment, Senegal used African Art and Culture as a negotiation tool with international partners and build a "soft" foreign policy with a variety of nations. At the same time, the First World Festival of Negro Arts was seen by many post-colonial states as neocolonial due to its connection to French concept of Negritude and cooperation with Western powers.<ref name=":112" /> The event strained relationships with Algeria and Guinea who would host their own festival in the years following in Algiers.<ref name=":112" />

==== Iran-Senegal Relations ====
Senegal's non-alignment policy also contributed to the building of significant relationships with other nations. President Sénghor developed strong political and economic ties with the Shah of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]]. In 1971, formal diplomatic relations were established, and, by 1973, the Shah was providing $2.4 million in developmental loans for Senegal (Steele 180–1).<ref name=":15" /> Iran continued to provide development investment and loans from 1974 to 1979 that focused on the trade of Iranian oil for Senegalese phosphate, including the creation of an oil refinery and a new adjacent city in Senegal (Steele 183–4).<ref name=":15" /> The project was never completed due to funding gaps and the [[Iranian Revolution]], despite strong intentions to move forward.