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Angola, slowly recovering from a twenty-seven year civil war, is
becoming a regional super-power in southern Africa. This rise can
be attributed to oil, diamonds, a battle-tested armed forces and a
political system that is dominated by one party - the Movimento
Popular de Libertacao de Angola (the Popular Movement for the
Liberation of Angola - MPLA). Problems remain to be solved. The
vast wealth is in the control of the elite while the vast majority
of the people live on less than two dollars per day. Corruption is
rife, the health and education system in shambles, landmines remain
a festering problem and the opposition is intimidated and split
into various factions. President Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled
Angola for almost thirty-eight years, has opted not to run for
re-election in the August 2017 elections. Instead his hand-picked
successor Joao Lourenco was elected president. Interestingly, dos
Santos has not surrendered his presidency of the party. This third
edition of Historical Dictionary of Angola contains a chronology,
an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The
dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on
important personalities, politics, economy, foreign relations,
religion, and culture. This book is an excellent resource for
students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about
Angola.
When Portugal's colonial rule in Angola ended in 1974, three
liberation groups--UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence
of Angola), FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola), and
MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola)--agreed to a
tripartite movement for the fledgling nation. Conflicts quickly
arose and the MPLA, with Cuban and Soviet assistance, drove its
rivals from the capital, instigating a civil war, which continues
into three periods (1975-1991, 1992-94, and 1998-2002). This volume
covers the first period, focusing on the political history of the
UNITA movement and its struggles with the MPLA. The Angolan civil
war was the product of personal jealousies, contrasting ideologies,
and ethnic animosities. From its inception, the conflict between
UNITA and Angola's Marxist government was an international affair
involving the U. S., the USSR, China, and many African states: W.
Martin James III, who wrote his book near the close of the first
period of civil war, contends that despite Gorbachev's "new
thinking" and talk of peaceful solutions to regional conflicts,
Soviet policy toward Angola marked a reversion to the Brezhnev
Doctrine. The biggest MPLA-Cuban offenses occurred during
Gorbachev's tenure with Soviet advisers at the brigade level
directing an MPLA offensive. American policy toward Angola is also
examined here. This is the first book to emphasize the dynamic role
of UNITA in the Angolan liberation movement. James acknowledges
that the importance of foreign powers in guaranteeing a government
of national reconciliation. Just as important are strategies of
compromise requiring trust in a political context where it is
violated and submission for the common good where defiance is a
remnant of the colonial past. Foreign policy analysts, African area
specialists, and scholars of post-colonial history find this volume
indispensible.
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