Political Identity and Conflict in Central Angola, 1975}}}2002 [Hardcover]

This book examines the internal politics of the war that divided Angola for over a quarter-century after its independence.This book examines the internal politics of the war that divided Angola for over a quarter-century after its independence. Drawing upon interviews with farmers, town dwellers, soldiers and politicians in Central Angola, Justin Pearce examines the ideologies about nation and state that elites deployed in pursuit of hegemony.This book examines the internal politics of the war that divided Angola for over a quarter-century after its independence. Drawing upon interviews with farmers, town dwellers, soldiers and politicians in Central Angola, Justin Pearce examines the ideologies about nation and state that elites deployed in pursuit of hegemony.This book examines the internal politics of the war that divided Angola for more than a quarter-century after independence. In contrast to earlier studies, its emphasis is on Angolan people's relationship to the rival political forces that prevented the development of a united nation. Pearce's argument is based on original interviews with farmers and town dwellers, soldiers and politicians in Central Angola. He uses these to examine the ideologies about nation and state that elites deployed in pursuit of hegemony, and traces how people responded to these efforts at politicisation. The material presented here demonstrates the power of the ideas of state and nation in shaping perceptions of self-interest and determining political loyalty. Yet the book also shows how political allegiances could and did change in response to the experience of military force. In so doing, it brings the Angolan case to the centre of debates on conflict in post-colonial Africa.Introduction; 1. Anti-colonial mobilisation and the Portuguese exodus; 2. UNITA, 19756: from the cities to the 'Long March'; 3. The MPLA and urban state making; 4. Migration, relocation and identity; 5. UNITA in the Central Highlands, 197691; 6. UNITA at Jamlh