Proximate to a Weberian perspective, this article argues that the resilience of the Angolan regime is mainly owed to an ethos structured on top of a specific socio-cultural historical matrix (minority at start), evolving since the 16th century. Such matrix was structured on a prevailing Weltanschauung (world and national vision), that has been progressively self-presented, self-assumed, imposed/assimilated as national and modern within a project of identity and power hegemony, even though still and constantly ridden by several internal contradictions and tensions. Dynamics of this process is central to understand the intricacies of the relationship between rulers and ruled, evolving identities as well as the still significant social support to the party in power after more than four decades in the government. The regime’s resilience lays on such ethos in support of hegemonic power and identity project, above and beyond the president and all his political management abilities, beyond the central instrumentality of the national oil company (SONANGOL), beyond the media spotlight on influential names surrounding the presidency, including the president’s men, generals, and beyond authoritarianism.
Aiming for regime transformation, post-transition Angolan civil society activism moved from reformism and confrontationism to ultra-confrontationism. Reformism and confrontationism evolved until the 2008 elections, influenced by development thinking (neoliberalism/institutionalism vs neo-Marxism/world-system thinking), in two opposing strategies: ‘constructive engagement’ vs political defiance. The dispute ended with ultra-confrontationism gaining impetus with the Arab spring, with a younger generation resorting to new methods (information and communications technology and demonstrations). Despite the lack of funding or international links, the newer methods caused more concern to the regime. Nevertheless, they suffer from the same shortfalls as their predecessors: they are confined to an urban/suburban social segment, and unable to attract the majority of the population.
Este texto apresenta uma análise da política angolana desde a independência aos nossos dias partindo de duas posições políticas contrárias que influenciaram de sobremaneira o percurso do país no pós-independência e que permitem compreender não só as disputas em curso como as políticas e estratégias seguidas. São contrastadas as posições caracterizadas como de pragmatismo nacionalista de matriz liberal e internacionalismo progressista de matriz socialista-marxista, seguindo critérios de ideologia influenciando a gestão política, economia política e política externa. A análise identifica a matriz que, embora sob diversas roupagens, discursos e protagonistas, apresenta uma coerência de médio e longo-prazo e uma linha orientadora do percurso político-econômico trilhado pelo partido no poder desde 1975. O trabalho estruturase em duas grandes partes, historicamente sequenciais, sendo a primeira dedicada ao enquadramento do tema e suas implicações políticas ao longo da presidência de Agostinho Neto (1975-1979) e a segunda abarcando a muito mais longa administração de Eduardo dos Santos, desde 1979 aos nossos dias, passando por diferentes contextos nacionais e internacionais ao longo dos anos.
Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto e distribuído sob os termos da Licença de Atribuição Creative Commons, que permite uso irrestrito, distribuição e reprodução em qualquer meio, desde que o autor e a fonte originais sejam creditados.
This paper deals with the possible impact of the most recent international authoritarian populist tendencies on sub-Saharan African political systems. Contrary to the main currents of interpretation, this paper argues that we are not in face of a new international influence or role model being locally followed, but in face of the most recent example of a long political-historical path of selective assimilation of international trends to local political systems as structured after independence. We are not witnessing to poor local replicas of the most recent international wave of authoritarian populism of 2010s, but to another selective assimilation of political features to serve the existing and locally dominant systems. Through the analysis of the specific cases of Mozambique and Angola, this paper theoretically and historically discusses the nature of regimes and political systems through a critical approach on the most recent historical/political science discussions of so-called hybrid regimes, combining liberal and illiberal features, that resort to concepts such as illiberal democracies, façade democracies, electoral autocracies, semi-authoritarian states, competitive authoritarian regimes, post-neo-liberal States, or new competitive authoritarian regimes, among others.
A caracterização politico-ideológica e a análise dos movimentos nacionalistas An The political-ideological characterization and analysis of Angolan nationalist movements and the conflicts between them, has always been subject of major and passionate political-academic discussion, which became an important component of the nationalist movements’ international and domestic characterization and definition. The MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) rapidly acquired the epithet of leftist, Socialist and Marxist since the anti-colonial struggle through the independence and afterwards. However, during the so-called founding period of an officially proclaimed Socialist MPLA, in an apparent contradiction, the MPLA’s governing practice went objectively in an opposite direction, while still reinforcing that unquestioned epithet of Socialist. It is here argued that foreign attributed classifications (political and academic), influenced by the passionate political-idological struggles of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, the civil war and the Cold War, ended up diplomatically-politically assumed (instrumentalised) by the movement itself, whereby an illusive characterization/identification prevailed, hampering a more objective analysis of the post-independence political practice. Our paper will focus on the contrast between the academic discussion on the political-ideological characterization of the MPLA (part I) and the governing practice of the party during the administration of the first President of the Republic, which was the founding period of the MPLA as a so-called Marxist-Leninist Socialist party (part II). Keywords: Angola; MPLA; Socialism; Agostinho Neto administration; political orientation. golanos, assim como os conflitos entre eles, foi sempre sujeita a apaixonadas discussões politico-académicas, que se tornaram um importante componente da definição doméstica e internacional dos movimentos nacionalistas. O MPLA rapidamente adquiriu o epíteto de esquerdista, Socialista e Marxista desde a luta anti-colonial, durante o processo da independência e depois da independência. No entanto, numa aparente contradição, durante o designado período fundacional de um oficialmente proclamado MPLA, a prática politico-governativa do partido prosseguiu numa direção oposta, ao mesmo tempo que reforçava o epíteto de Socialista. Este texto argumenta que as classificações atribuídas a partir de fora (políticas e académicas), influenciadas pelas apaixonadas lutas politico-ideológicas das décadas de 1950, 1960 e 1970, a guerra-civil e os alinhamentos da ‘Guerra Fria’, acabaram assumidos (instrumentalizado) pelo próprio movimento/partido, num processo mediante o qual prevaleceu uma ilusória caracterização/definição ideológica, obstaculizando uma análise mais objectiva da prática política do pós-independência. Este texto focar-se-á no contraste entre a discussão académica acerca da caracterização político-ideológica do MPLA (parte I) e a prática governativa do partido durante a administração do primeiro Presidente da República, consistindo no período fundacional do MPLA enquanto partido Socialista Marxista-Leninista (part II).
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.