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Rebels and Robbers is about the political economy of violence in post-colonial Angola. This book provides the first comprehensive attempt at analyzing how the military and non-military dynamics of more than four decades of conflict created the structural violence that stubbornly defines Angolan society even in the absence of war. The book clearly demonstrates that the end of the civil war has not ushered in positive peace. The focus on structural violence enables the author to explore the continuities since colonial times, especially in the ways race, class, ethnicity, and power have been used by governing elites as mechanisms to oppress the powerless. Thus, although corruption as structural violence manifesting itself so ubiquitously in Angola today may have been taken to new levels after independence, its origin is unmistakably colonial. Similarly, the zero-sum character of political interactions that defined colonial Angola is yet to be fully exorcized. But there are also important discontinuities. The unabashed propensity to capture public resources for personal aggrandizement is purely post-colonial. So is the tendency toward personal, unaccountable rule. Given its rich endowments, the end of the civil war provides Angola with an opportunity to finally realize its developmental potential. This will depend on whether the wealth resulting from the exploration of natural resources is directed toward creating the conditions for the citizens' realization of their aspirations for the good life thus ensuring sustainable peace. ; CONTENTS -- Background: legacies of diversity, wealth, and colonialism -- Violence and fractured nationalism -- External interventions and internal violence -- UNITA's insurgency: mutations and self-mutilations -- The problematic post-colonial state -- War termination as survival strategy -- Post-conflict challenges: identity and governance -- Toward a citizen-friendly state -- External dimensions of positive peace

The civil war in Angola has mutated into a major criminal enterprise. Once regarded as a conflict caused primarily by ethnic & class divisions exacerbated by Cold War ideological rivalries, Angola's protracted conflict is now a convenient cover used by the elites commanding the principal antagonists -- the governing Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) & the rebel Uniao Nacional para Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) movement -- to enrich themselves. The consequences for the country & its people have been devastating. Angola is being reduced to ashes: destruction, death, & incessant suffering consume the daily lives of all but a few of its citizens. This article examines the internal & external dimensions of this war for Angola's oil & diamond wealth. 28 References. Adapted from the source document.

The civil war in Angola has mutated into a major criminal enterprise. Once regarded as a conflict caused primarily by ethnic and class divisions exacerbated by Cold War ideological rivalries, Angola's protracted conflict is now a convenient cover used by the elites commanding the principal antagonists ‐ the governing Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA) and the rebel Uniao Nacional para Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA) movement ‐ to enrich themselves. The consequences for the country and its people have been devastating. Angola is being reduced to ashes: destruction, death and incessant suffering consume the daily lives of all but a few of its citizens. This article examines the internal and external dimensions of this war for Angola's oil and diamond wealth.