Visiting Fellows

Mr Hugh Pattenden

Hugh Pattenden is a historian who specialises in the politics and diplomacy of Zimbabwean decolonisation. His research falls into three broad subject areas.

The first is the relationship between Britain and (the then) Rhodesia during the UDI period (1965-80), including the political and legal ramifications of UDI, and the development of British public opinion. His monograph, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe in the British Press: Representations of Colonialism and Liberation in Southern Africa, c.1951-1980 is forthcoming with Bloomsbury Academic. 

Second, he is interested in the political thought of settler colonialism in Africa, and of decolonization, as well as the administrative workings of the colonial state in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. 

His third main area of study is Zimbabwean nationalist propaganda. In this, he looks at the ways in which ZANU and ZAPU used their media output to criticise opponents and build support during the 1960s and 1970s. He has a degree in history from the University of Oxford and is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. 

Email: h.pattenden@soton.ac.uk

Research interests:

UDI and the decolonisation of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean nationalism

British-Zimbabwean relations

The Cold War in Africa

The political thought of settler colonialism and decolonization

The construction of historical memory

The history of news reporting

Propaganda tropes and narratives

Hugh is the author/editor of (selected publications): 

Book
(Forthcoming) Rhodesia and Zimbabwe in the British Press: Representations of Colonialism and Liberation in Southern Africa, c.1951-1980 (Bloomsbury Academic)

Edited Volume
(2025) Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence: National, Regional, International, and Transnational Perspectives (co-editor with Carl Watts and Sue Onslow) (Bloomsbury Academic) 

Articles and Review Articles
(2021) ‘Britain and the Rhodesian Mercenary Issue, c.1970-1980’, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 49, 4, 777-804. 
(2021) ‘Britain, Rhodesia, and the Law of Treason, 1964-1980’, Journal of Legal History 42, 3, 304-27. 
(2022) ‘British Public Opinion on the Rhodesian Issue, 1963-1980’, International History Review 44, 2, 335-56. 
(2023) ‘The Representation of the British Government in Zimbabwean Nationalist Propaganda, 1965-80’, Journal of Contemporary History 58, 1, 152-76. 
(2023) ‘Christianity in the Propaganda of ZANU and ZAPU, 1965-80’, Journal of Ecclesiastical History 74, 4, 823-45.
(2023) ‘The Guerrilla War of ZANLA and ZIPRA as Presented in Zimbabwean Nationalist Propaganda’, International Journal of African Historical Studies 56, 3, 411-32.
(2023) ‘Nazism, Fascism, and Genocide as Themes in ZANU and ZAPU Propaganda During the War Against Rhodesia, 1965-80’, Holocaust and Genocide Studies 37, 3, 360-72.
(2024) ‘The Representation of Women in ZANU and ZAPU Propaganda During the Zimbabwe War of Liberation’, Women’s History Review 33, 3, 425-44.
(2024) ‘Rhodesia’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in the Indian Press, 1965-70’, Journal of Asian and African Studies 60, 6, 3404-3418.
(2024) ‘State of the Field: The History of African Political Thought’, History 109, 386-7, 202-25.
(2024) ‘Review Article: South African Military Involvement in Rhodesia, c.1965-80’. Small Wars & Insurgencies (published online first view). https://doi.org/10.1080/09592318.2024.2386641
(2024) ‘The Internal Settlement and Zimbabwe-Rhodesia in Patriotic Front Propaganda’, South African Historical Journal 76, 1-2, 39-60.
(2024) ‘Victimhood in the Writings of Veterans of the Rhodesian Security Forces’. Canadian Journal of African Studies 58, 3, 681-97.
(2025) ‘Changing Interpretations of Ian Smith in the British Press, 1980-2007’, Historical Research 98, 279, 105-23.
(2025) ‘‘A Strange World of Fantasy’: The Radio Propaganda of the Rhodesian Broadcasting Corporation, 1964-1970’, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 45, 1, 1-22.