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Socialism and the ‘Soft State’ in Africa: an Analysis of Angola and Mozambique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2008

Extract

The overthrow of Haile Selassie in Ethiopia in 1974, and the independence of Angola and Mozambique in 1975, as well as Zimbabwe in 1980, seem to have strengthened the case for classifying African régimes on the basis of their ideology.

In a collection of mainly country-studies of socialism in sub-Saharan Africa edited by Carl Rosberg and Thomas Callaghy in 1978, various explanations were advanced about why the so-called ‘first wave’ of radicals failed to transform African societies successfully, and a common theme was the major rô played by ideology in differentiating ‘African’ from ‘scientific’ socialist régimes.1 In 1981 David and Marina Ottaway contrasted the ‘African socialism’ of Guinea, Zambia, and Tanzania with the ‘Afrocommunism’ of Angola, Mozambique, and Ethiopia, and contended that ideology was the best indicator of the clear differences that existed in both their institutions and policy choices.2 In 1982 Crawford Young placed African régimes in three ideological categories: ‘Populist socialist’, and ‘African capitalist’.3

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

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References

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Page 32 note 2 Ibid. 22 May 1981, ‘Council of Ministers Reviews Results of Second Offensive’; Ibid. 21 April 1981.

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Page 33 note 3 Ibid. 29 January 1981, ‘Satisfactory Results of Last Rectification Seminar’; Ibid. 1 November 1980.

Page 33 note 4 Ibid. 24 February 1981, ‘Rectification Movement Statistics, Recommendations’; Ibid. 24 November 1980.

Page 33 note 5 Africa Confidential, June 1982, p. 3.

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Page 33 note 9 Ibid. 2 May 1979, ‘Voluntary Work Needed in Cotton Fields’; Ibid. 23 April 1979.

Page 34 note 1 Ibid. 5 April 1978, ‘Sugar Quotas Not Met in Benguela’; Ibid. 5 February 1978.

Page 34 note 2 Ibid. 7 April 1978, ‘Workers' Absence Sabotages Angolan–Cuban Sugar Refinery’; Ibid. 12 February 1978.

Page 34 note 3 Ibid. 13 March 1978, ‘Local Producation, Better Distribution of Goods Planned’; Ibid. 2 February 1978.

Page 34 note 4 Ibid. 6 June 1979, ‘Special Workers' Stores Open in Shortage-Plagued Benguela’, Ibid. 1 April 1979.

Page 35 note 1 Ibid. 27 May 1982, ‘Departures of Party Members in Bie, Kuando Kubango, Discussed’; Ibid. 25 March 1982.

Page 35 note 2 Ibid. 12 July 1981, ‘Dos Santos May Day Speech on UNITA Offensive’; Ibid. 5 February 1981.

Page 35 note 3 Ibid. 28 July 1981, ‘Central Committee Issues Communiqué on its Session’; Ibid. 21 June 1981.

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