Angola's Last Best Chance for Peace: An Insider's Account of the Peace Process.

• Author: Ihonvbere, Julius O.
• Position: Review

By Paul Hare

Published by the United States Institute for Peace

Reviewed by Julius O. Ihonvbere, The Ford Foundation, New York

It is true that African States continue to suffer from the legacy of colonialism and neocolonialism. Nowhere is this better demonstrated than in Angola. Over 500 years of Portuguese colonialism left the country backward, underdeveloped and structurally distorted and disarticulated. Portuguese departure following the military victory of the Movimento Popular para a Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) in 1976 did not terminate the influence of Portugal in Angolan affairs. Worse still, the victory of the leftist-leaning party drew opposition to the new regime from most Western Powers, in particular the United States. This was evidenced more clearly in the United States' support for Jonas Savimbi's rebel opposition to the post-colonial government. Ironically, though the United States continued to buy Angola's oil, it also provided military and other forms of support to the rebels to make the country ungovernable, disrupt economic activities and possibly bring down the Government.

Paul Hare's book deals essentially with the peace efforts in Angola since 1994, beginning with the Lusaka Protocol. The focus is less on African and more on international, especially UN-brokered, initiatives. For Mr. Hare, the opportunities provided in the post-1994 situation represented the "last best chance for peace". In nine captivating chapters, he explores the issues, history, institutions, local, regional and international actors, and the dynamics of the peace process in Angola. He highlights the roles played by the United States, the United Nations Secretary-General and some African States like Zambia and South Africa in trying to keep the difficult process alive and on track. In what is dearly an objective rendition of the politics of peace negotiation, Mr. Hare critically evaluates the contributions and miscalculations of the respective actors, including the United Nations and the United States, as well as the Uniao Nacional Para a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA)...