Dos Santos to Lourenço: Angola’s transitional politics

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Published: Nov 1, 2021
Keywords:
Angola transitional politics José Eduardo dos Santos Isabel dos Santos João Lourenço MPLA UNITA civil war economic crisis leadership crisis; “book club coup” finance; mineral resources petrol

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Alex Vines
Chatham House, Coventry University

Abstract




The author reviews three books about the recent history of Angola, discusses the transition from the long rule of José Eduardo dos Santos to that of his successor, João Lourenço, and evaluates the likelihood that the ruling party, the MPLA, will retain power in the national elections of August 2022. The books he reviews are Estelle Maussion, La dos Santos Company: Mainmise sur l’Angola (Paris: Editions Karthala, 2019), Paula Cristina Roque, Governing in the Shadows: Angola’s Securitised State (London: Hurst & Company, 2021) and Rui Santos Verde, Angola at the Crossroads: Between Kleptocracy and Development (London: I.B. Tauris, 2021).




Article Details

How to Cite
Vines, A. (2021). Dos Santos to Lourenço: Angola’s transitional politics. The Africa Governance Papers, 1(1). Retrieved from https://tagp.gga.org/index.php/system/article/view/10
Issue
Vol. 1 No. 1 (2021): Dimensions of freedom and governance: past, present, future
Section
Review Article
Author Biography

Alex Vines, Chatham House, Coventry University

Dr Alex Vines OBE is director of the Africa Programme and managing director for risk, ethics and resilience, Chatham House. He is also an assistant professor, Coventry University. Alex chaired the UN Panel of Experts on Côte d’Ivoire from 2005 to 2007, was a member of the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia from 2001 to 2003 and served with the Commonwealth Observer Group to Ghana in 2016 and Mozambique in 2019. He has consulted for a range of international organisations, published widely and sits on the advisory boards of several southern African academic journals. He was awarded an OBE in 2008 in recognition of his work including founding and developing Chatham House’s Africa programme and holds a PhD from Coventry University.

References

Estelle Maussion. (2019). La dos Santos Company: Mainmise sur l’Angola. Editions. Karthala.

Paula Cristina Roque. (2021). Governing in the Shadows: Angola’s Securitised State. Hurst & Company.

Rui Santos Verde. (2021). Angola at the Crossroads: Between Kleptocracy and Development. I.B. Tauris.