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28 April 2011
GPPi fellow publishes article on post-conflict statebuilding in Angola
In April 2011 the Journal of Modern African Studies published an article about post-conflict state-building in Angola by GPPi fellow Ricardo Soares de Oliveira. In the piece, titled Illiberal Peacebuilding in Angola, Soares de Oliveira (who teaches at Oxford University) argues that Angola's oil-fuelled reconstruction since the end of the civil war in 2002 is a world away from the mainstream liberal peacebuilding approach that Western donors have promoted and run since the end of cold war. In Soares de Oliveira´s view, the Angolan case is a pivotal example of what can be termed “illiberal peacebuilding,” a process of post-war reconstruction managed by local elites in defiance of liberal peace precepts on civil liberties, the rule of law, the expansion of economic freedoms and poverty alleviation, with a view to constructing a hegemonic order and an elite stranglehold over the political economy. Making sense of the Angolan case is a starting point for a broader comparative look at other cases of illiberal peacebuilding such as Rwanda, Lebanon and Sri Lanka.
For further information, please contact Ricardo Soares de Oliveira.