Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | 'A Baby Who Does Not Cry Will Not be Suckled': AMODEG and the Reintegration of Demobilised Soldiers |
Author: | Schafer, Jessica |
Year: | 1998 |
Periodical: | Journal of Southern African Studies |
Volume: | 24 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | March |
Pages: | 207-222 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Mozambique |
Subjects: | associations civil wars veterans Politics and Government Military, Defense and Arms |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637454 |
Abstract: | This article examines postwar politics in Mozambique through a case study of the demobilized soldiers' association, Amodeg (Associação Moçambicana dos Desmobilizados da Guerra). Amodeg was created towards the end of the war and reflected the government's move towards multipartyism in the new constitution of 1990. Amodeg is of particular interest because of the special status of demobilized soldiers in the postwar period. Amodeg's incorporation of demobilized soldiers from the armies of both Renamo and Frelimo also provided an important testing ground for the government's commitment to multiparty politics and reconciliation. After a brief history of Amodeg, the author focuses on the relationships between Amodeg, the State and donors/implementing agencies in the international community. Subsequently, she assesses the extent of Amodeg's autonomy and its ability to represent its members. She shows that Amodeg's autonomy was restricted by its material dependence on the government and international agencies. International agencies' insistence on 'civic education' undermined Amodeg's capacity to meet its members demands, address fundamental obstacles to reintegration or promote reconciliation. Yet, the organization has managed to mobilize its constituency to press for their rights and to show its members how to influence the government. Notes, ref., sum. |