Working Paper No.23
Emerging Pluralist Politics in Mozambique: the Frelimo-Renamo party system
Giovanni M. Carbone
DESTIN, LSE
March 2003
In 1992, the Mozambican civil war was brought to a close, marking the beginning
of a ‘pacted’ and fundamentally successful process of democratic change. Despite
the extreme poverty of the country, Mozambique has managed to introduce a
formally competitive electoral regime, in which movements that were formerly in
violent opposition to one another have moved towards fragile pluralist practices
– in marked contrast to, for example, Angola, whose peace process quickly
unraveled. This paper examines the emergence of a two party system in
Mozambique, in which the former Renamo guerrilla fighters appear to have
embraced the possibilities of peace. Ultimately, however, Carbone warns against
undue optimism, and highlights the weaknesses of the system that are still to be
resolved. For all that the country has adopted a formally competitive political
system, it continues to fall short of fully democratic and liberal practices.
Other Crisis States papers by Giovanni Carbone
Working Paper No.36 (November 2003)
Developing Multi-Party Politics: Stability and Change in Ghana and Mozambique
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