Rebels and Robbers is about the political economy of violence in post-colonial
Angola. This book provides the first comprehensive attempt at analyzing how the
military and non-military dynamics of more than four decades of conflict created
the structural violence that stubbornly defines Angolan society even in the absence
of war. The book clearly demonstrates that the end of the civil war has not ushered
in positive peace.
The focus on structural violence enables the author to explore the continuities
since colonial times, especially in the ways race, class, ethnicity, and power
have been used by governing elites as mechanisms to oppress the powerless. Thus,
although corruption as structural violence manifesting itself so ubiquitously
in Angola today may have been taken to new levels after independence, its origin
is unmistakably colonial. Similarly, the zero-sum character of political interactions
that defined colonial Angola is yet to be fully exorcized. But there are also
important discontinuities. The unabashed propensity to capture public resources
for personal aggrandizement is purely post-colonial. So is the tendency toward
personal, unaccountable rule.
Given its rich endowments, the end of the civil war provides Angola with an
opportunity to finally realize its developmental potential. This will depend
on whether the wealth resulting from the exploration of natural resources is
directed toward creating the conditions for the citizens’ realization
of their aspirations for the good life thus ensuring sustainable peace.
This book is valuable to academics, practitioners, and the general public interested
in gaining a deeper understanding of the political economy of violence in Africa
and, more specifically, the interplay between violence, wealth and power in
Angola.
