Conflict In Angola Research Articles

Russia — Africa: old friends and perspective partners (on the example of Angola and Mozambique)

The article analyzes diplomatic, trade and economic relations, as well as military-technical cooperation between Russia and Angola, Russia and Mozambique caused by the growing role of African countries in world politics and economy. These African states traditionally hold a special place in the Russian, and previously Soviet, foreign policy. In the 21st century Africa is one of the most dynamically developing and promising regions in the world, which is reflected in the Concept of the Foreign Policy of the Russian Federation. This is evidenced by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s recent activity. In the first months of 2023, he has already toured Africa twice: from January 23 to 27 and from February 6 to 9. Russian-Angolan and Mozambican bilateral relations have been always seen as “reliable and timetested”. It was 1975 when the USSR established diplomatic relations with Angola and Mozambique after they gained independence from Portugal. During the Soviet Union ties between our countries were actively developing. After the collapse of the USSR bilateral cooperation signifi cantly decreased, while military-political collaboration continued, including the settlement of the armed conflict in Angola. At the present stage, our relations are developing in many directions. These are, in addition to military assistance, Russia’s participation in the development of Angolan diamond deposits, cooperation in the field of education, merchant shipping, as well as exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes. A new impetus to the development of relations is given by high-level visits “on the sidelines” of BRICS and the Russia-Africa Summits.

СССР в гражданских войнах в странах третьего мира во второй половине 1970-х гг. (на примере Анголы и Афганистана)

Introduction. One of the features of the Cold War was the movement of the rivalry of the superpowers into local armed conflicts and civil wars that took place on the territory of other states, mainly the Third World. The article examines the process of the involvement of the Soviet Union in the second half of the 1970s in the civil wars in Angola and Afghanistan. The policy of the USSR in armed conflicts outside the zone of its military-political influence has often been the subject of scientific research, but it has rarely been subjected to comparative analysis, and the authors make such an attempt, which is the novelty of the study. Methods and materials. The main method of the study is the method of comparative analysis (the actions of the USSR in 1975–1979 during the conflict in Angola and Soviet actions in the same period in Afghanistan are compared); the authors rely on documents, memoirs, and previous scientific works. Analysis. The first part of the article examines the process of the USSR’s involvement in the civil war in Angola, which began there soon after gaining independence, from the diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of Angola to the dispatch of Soviet military specialists. The second part of the article is devoted to the development of events in Afghanistan after the April 1978 revolution and Soviet involvement in them. Results. The authors conclude that the line adopted by the Soviet Union in relation to the military confrontation in Angola (financial, military, and other assistance, the dispatch of weapons, and military specialists) was ultimately more successful than the line implemented in relation to the civil war in Afghanistan in the form of direct military intervention by the Soviet army and its participation in the conflict outside the country. Authors contribution. T.V. Rabush described and analyzed the development of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Angola and with Afghanistan. R.A. Solovyev examined the military aspects of Soviet-Angolan and Soviet-Afghan cooperation (supply of weapons, sending military advisers, etc.). The research concept, conclusions, and literary editing of the text were carried out jointly.

«ЗДЕСЬ ПЫЛЬ, ВОЙНА, УНИТА И КОШМАРЫ…»: ОБРАЗ АНГОЛЫ В ПОЭЗИИ СОВЕТСКИХ ВОЕННЫХ – УЧАСТНИКОВ ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ В АНГОЛЕ (1975-2002 гг.)

The article is devoted to a socio-historical and cultural phenomenon, designated by the author as "amateur poetry of the Soviet military, participants in the civil war in Angola (1975-2002)". The author reveals the political and psychological reasons for the appeal of soldiers-internationalists to poetic creativity and proves the possibility of using these works as historical sources. A comprehensive analysis of the literary heritage of 17 Soviet military men who served in Angola in the 1970s–1990s was carried out in order to characterize the image of Angola. The author argues that the stereotypes imposed by the literature of the 20th century were continued in the poetry of the Soviet military, for whom the People's Republic of Angola appeared as a "distant" unknown African country. The dominant feature in creating the image of the country was a landscape built on recognizable memes: red earth, life-giving ocean, savannah, palm trees, papaya, heat. Another traditional motive for Soviet literature was the idea of Angola as "a place of confrontation between the forces of good and evil, socialism and imperialism", therefore, the fulfillment of international duty, cooperation with the "progressive forces of Angola" for these people was considered natural and fully justified. The third myth, reflected in amateur poetry, concerned the "poverty and backwardness" of Angola, and, therefore, its inability to defend its freedom and independence without outside help. The author proves that the stereotypes imposed by Soviet propaganda were refracted in amateur poetry under the influence of reality and time. Angola during the years of the civil war turned out to be not Gumilyov's "lost paradise", but a "terrible hell", from which not everyone managed to get out; "angolans" turned out to be not a single people dreaming of a "bright socialist future", but a multitude of warring tribes. The secrecy of the participation of the USSR in the conflict in Angola and the unwillingness of the authorities to recognize Soviet military as combatants entitled to appropriate benefits formed the idea of Angola as a country "where Soviet military personnel could not be".

Accusation and Legitimacy in the Civil War in Angola

Abstract This article analyses the main categories of accusation found in the speeches of leaders from the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) during the Civil War in Angola (1975-2002). Seeking to understand the entanglements between the global and local dimensions of the conflict, we argue that the accusations made by Agostinho Neto (MPLA), José Eduardo dos Santos (MPLA), and Jonas Savimbi (UNITA) aimed to delegitimize the ‘other’ in the act of claiming legitimacy to occupy the state. This is achieved through the opposition between accusatory categories attributed to the ‘other’ and their inverse, categories attributed to the person making the accusation. We thereby show how the understanding of political conflicts in general, and the conflict in Angola specifically, can be illuminated through the analysis of categories whose linguistic dimension is entangled with historically constituted social positionalities.

Framing conflict – the Cold War and after: Reflections from an old hack

The media – whether mainstream press, broadcasting and online services or social media – is still a major source of news about conflicts for the majority of people. They rely on the media to tell them what is going on in the world, select what is important or relevant and exclude the items that are deemed unimportant or unintelligible. The media uses forms of representation and framing to simplify and provide recognized depictions of distant countries, peoples and wars. These are part of the basic operating procedures of media organizations. But do they conceal or exclude more than they explain and do they give an accurate picture of the causes and combatants? Based on 40 years of monitoring, reporting and putting together news programmes on conflicts across the globe, the author seeks to analyse how framing works and the distortions in understanding that it leads to. The author gives his perspective on the five decades of conflict in Angola and the way framing has changed but done little to inform or educate.

Girl Soldiers and Human Rights: Lessons from Angola, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Northern Uganda

The issue of child soldiers has become an issue of global concern. More than 250,000 soldiers under the age of 18 are fighting in conflicts in over 40 countries around the world. While there is ample descriptive evidence of the conditions and factors underlying the rise of child soldiery in the developing world, most of the literature has portrayed this as a uniquely male phenomenon, ultimately neglecting the experiences and perspectives of girls within fighting forces. Drawing upon the findings of three studies funded by the Canadian International Development Agency's Child Protection Research Fund, this paper traces the perspectives and experiences of girls as victims and participants of violence and armed conflict in Angola, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, and Northern Uganda. The three studies collectively reveal three salient themes. First, whether in the heat of conflict or within post-war programming, girls are, for the most part, rendered invisible and marginalised. Second, in spite of this profound invisibility and marginalisation, girls are fundamental to the war machine—their operational contributions are integral and critical to the overall functioning of armed groups. Third, girls in fighting forces contend with overwhelming experiences of victimisation, perpetration, and insecurity. In the aftermath of conflict, girls arguably bear a form of secondary victimisation through socio-economic marginalisation and exclusion, as well as the ongoing threats to their health and personal security.

The costs of the conflict in Angola

(2002). The costs of the conflict in Angola. South African Journal of International Affairs: Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 1-16.

Angola: A case study in the challenges of achieving peace and the question of amnesty or prosecution of war crimes in mixed armed conflicts

On 22 February 2002, Jonas Malheiro Savimbi, who led the UNITA rebel movement during the bloody armed conflict in Angola and who had battled to take power by force since Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975, was killed in a gun battle with the Angolan Army. During the Cold War, Savimbi was a proxy for the United States against the then-Marxist government of Angola. But after the end of the Cold War, he lost international support for rejecting peace efforts. He was accused of perpetuating a bloody internal conflict to advance his own interests and was exposed to international sanctions. Meanwhile, the government of President José Eduardo dos Santos moved closer to the United States.The 27-year-long armed conflict is believed to have killed approximately one million people and driven four million others from their homes, creating a humanitarian crisis. In addition, the conflict destroyed almost all of the country's infrastructure, and effectively disrupted every effort by the government to start the long desired national reconstruction after independence, and the building of prosperity for the nation's children.

Making war & lots of money: the political economy of protracted conflict in Angola

The civil war in Angola has mutated into a major criminal enterprise. Once regarded as a conflict caused primarily by ethnic and class divisions exacerbated by Cold War ideological rivalries, Angola's protracted conflict is now a convenient cover used by the elites commanding the principal antagonists ‐ the governing Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) and the rebel Uniao Nacional para Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) movement ‐ to enrich themselves. The consequences for the country and its people have been devastating. Angola is being reduced to ashes: destruction, death and incessant suffering consume the daily lives of all but a few of its citizens. This article examines the internal and external dimensions of this war for Angola's oil and diamond wealth.

The Origins of the Angolan Civil War: Foreign Intervention and Domestic Political Conflict

List of Tables Preface Abbreviations Introduction PART 1: THE INTERNAL SOURCES OF CONFLICT IN ANGOLA Portuguese Colonialism in Angola Angolan Anti-Colonialism Exile Politics PART 2: THE EXTERNALIZATION OF ANGOLAN CONFLICT The Angolan Civil War 1975-76 Zaire and South Africa Cuba and China The Soviet Union and the United States Conclusion Endnotes Bibliography Index

Peacekeeping in Angola (UNAVEM I and II)

This article examines the origin and course of the conflict in Angola as well as the role and influence of the two United Nations Angola Verification Missions (UNAVEM I and II). It explains the differences between the two UN missions and offers reasons for the failure of the peace process during UNAVEM II, focusing on the inadequate mandate, underfunding and insufficient number of personnel as well as inadequate organization. Neither the 1991 Bicesse Accords nor the mandate of UNAVEM II led to stabilization of the conflict in Angola. Rather, they allowed the fragile peace process to revert to war and disaster. Therefore, the Security Council authorized the establishment of UNAVEM III in early 1995. As the basis for the mandates and operations of both the UN missions in Angola, the peace agreements were the key factors for further development of the situation. While the bilateral agreement between Cuba and Angola from December 1988 and the mandate of UNAVEM I were clear and practicable, contentious provisions of the Bicesse Accords coupled with the limited mandate of UNAVEM II led to futher blunders and, in the end, to the overall failure of the mission.

Elusive Peace: Negotiating an End to Civil Wars

As the threat of superpower confrontation diminishes in the post-cold war era, civil wars and their regional ramifications are emerging as the primary challenge to international peace and security. Notoriously difficult to resolve, these internal conflicts seem condemned to escalate with no end in sight. This book recognizes that internal dissidence is the legitimate result of the breakdown of normal politics and focuses on resolving conflict through negotiation rather than combat. Elusive Peace provides a revealing look at the nature of internal conflicts and explains why appropriate conditions for negotiation and useful solutions are so difficult to find. The authors offer a series of case studies of ongoing conflict in Angola, Mozambique, Eritrea, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Lebanon, Spain, Colombia, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. They examine the characteristics of each confrontation, including past failed negotiations, and make suggestions for changes in negotiating strategies that could lead to a more successful outcome. The contributors, in addition to the editor, are Imtiaz Bokhari, Bilkent University, Ankara; Robert Clark, George Mason University; Marius Deeb and Marina Ottaway, Georgetown University; Mary Jane Deeb, American University; Francis Deng, Brookings; Daniel Druckman, National Academy of Sciences; Todd Eisenstadt, University of California, San Diego; Daniel Garcia, University of the Andes, Bogota; Justin Green, Villanova University; Carolyn Hartzell and Donald Rothchild, University of California, Davis; Ibrahim Msabaha, Center for Foreign Relations, Dar es-Salaam; and Howard Wriggins, Columbia University.

Settlement of internal conflict in Angola

The author makes na analysis of the main agreements related to the process of peace in Angola. He emphasizes the central position of the actors involved in this question taking in account the scenery regional and global, analyzing mainly the implementation of the peace agreements and the function of UNIVEM.

The Suffering grass: superpowers and regional conflict in southern Africa and the Caribbean

Introduction, the editors. Part 1 The United States and the Soviet Union: superpowers and conflict in the Caribbean Basin, Lloyd Searwar superpowers and conflict in Angola, Gillian Gunn. Part 2 Regional hegemons: pipsqueak power - the centrality and anomaly of Cuba, Jorge I. Dominguez South Africa and regional conflict in Angola and Namibia, Newell M. Stultz. Part 3 Third parties and conflict management: conflict resolution in the Caribbean Basin, Wayne S. Smith conflict resolution in Southern Africa, Fen Osler Hampson. Conclusion: regional conflicts and their resolution in the post-Cold War world, the editors.

Monitoring Human Rights in Africa

Since its founding in May 1988, Africa Watch has documented and reported on human rights abuses in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings are available in eight book-length reports and more than 70 newsletters, with new evidence available all the time on such topics as, for example, the suppression of information in the Sudan, violations of laws of war in Liberia, the devastating impact of the 15-year armed conflict in Angola, slavery in Mauritania, and interference with academic freedom in Zimbabwe.

Monitoring Human Rights in Africa

Since its founding in May 1988, Africa Watch has documented and reported on human rights abuses in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. These findings are available in eight book-length reports and more than 70 newsletters, with new evidence available all the time on such topics as, for example, the suppression of information in the Sudan, violations of laws of war in Liberia, the devastating impact of the 15-year armed conflict in Angola, slavery in Mauritania, and interference with academic freedom in Zimbabwe.

Africa — Latin America — Asia — Middle East

Following the agreement with the authorities in Luanda, the ICRC spent July and August establishing the logistic structure necessary to launch a relief operation for some 200,000 persons displaced as a result of the conflict in Angola.

Proxy Intervention in Civil Wars

Military intervention in civil wars by smaller states has often been interpreted as a sign of the increasing importance of indirect intervention as a means of foreign policy: the smaller intervening states are seen to have acted as the proxy of a major power. The Angola conflict in particular has been cited in this connection, and Cuba is often said to have intervened on behalf of the Soviet Union. Other examples have also been mentioned. However, it is not always clear what characterizes a proxy in this sense. This article tries to identify relevant criteria, and argues that a reasonable definition of a proxy relationship must be formulated in terms of power. Some of the instances of intervention by proxy mentioned in the literature are then examined in the light of this definition. In none of these is it possible to demonstrate that the intervening state actually acted as proxy for another. This conclusion may be the result of defective instruments of analysis, but it may also reflect the fact that interventions by proxy have not actually taken place.

Trade and Conflict in Angola: The Mbundu and their Neighbours under the Influence of the Portuguese, 1483-1790. David Birmingham

<i>Trade and Conflict in Angola: The Mbundu and their Neighbours under the Influence of the Portuguese, 1483-1790</i>. David Birmingham

D. Birmingham, "Trade and conflict in Angola" (Book Review)

D. Birmingham, "Trade and conflict in Angola" (Book Review)