Apartheid's Contras: An Inquiry into the Roots of War in Angola and Mozambique [Hardcover]

William Minter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 1994 | ISBN-10: 1856492656 | ISBN-13: 978-1856492652

Of all the many violent chapters in recent Southern African history, the conflicts in Angola and Mozambique since independence in 1975 have been the most protracted, complex and deadly for millions of civilians. William Minter argues that they represent a new kind of non-conventional warfare characteristic of the 'contra' period - neither classic guerrilla warfare nor straightforward external aggression, but comprising elements of civil war dominated by regional and global external powers.

He examines the Unita and Renamo social structures, external interventions, patterns of military recruitment, conditioning, logistics and strategy, and the mistakes made by the Angolan and Mozambican states.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Zed Books (October 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1856492656
• ISBN-13: 978-1856492652
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,431,824 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #86 in Books > History > Africa > Mozambique

More About the Author

William Minter is the editor of AfricaFocus Bulletin (http://www.africafocus.org). He has been a writer, researcher, and activist since the mid-1960s, focusing particularly on southern Africa and international issues. He studied at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria in 1961-62 and taught in Tanzania and Mozambique at the secondary school of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) in 1966-68 and 1974-76. He holds a Ph.D. in sociology and a certificate in African studies from the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

Minter worked as a writer, editor, and researcher at Africa News Service (now http://allafrica.com) in Durham, N.C. in 1973 and 1976-82. Based in Washington since 1982, he has combined personal research and writing with contract work for a number of organizations, including policy analysis, writing, and development of computer-mediated communication tools. This has included work for Africa Action and its predecessor organization, the Africa Policy Information Center (APIC), from 1992 through fall 2003, and for the affiliated Washington Office on Africa (WOA), from 1992 to 1997.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Wars for Southern Africa, January 6, 2000

By 

Stephen A. Emerson (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Apartheid's Contras: An Inquiry into the Roots of War in Angola and Mozambique (Paperback)

This well-written book provides the reader with an indepth analysis of the underlying dynamics of two of the bloodiest and prolonged civil wars in Africa.

Minter's focus in on examining the impact of both internal and external factors on these conflict and what role, if any, they played in helping to escalated conflict in Angola and Mozambique. The book's multi-tiered approach is well-suited to this type of investigation and Minter makes a strong case that external actors played the major role in prolonging and intensifying both civil wars. In doing so, Minter lays the blame for much of the bloodshed and suffering on South Africa, the United States, and the Soviet Union as the death struggle of apartheid and the end of the Cold War came to play an integral part in these internal conflicts.

Although I disagree with some of the book's specific conclusions--such as RENAMO's lack of popular support in Mozambique--Minter makes a strong case overall and seeks to answer lingering questions over the role and degree of external support to insurgents in Angola and Mozambique. This book is a must for the student of southern African affairs who is seeking to better understand one of the most defining times in the region's history.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Una profundización en los conflictos de sur africano, November 2, 2010

By 

septiniosevero - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Apartheid's Contras: An Inquiry into the Roots of War in Angola and Mozambique (Paperback)

Minter ha escrito una obra larga y con mucha atención a las causas y consecuencias de lo sucedido en el Sur de África desde finales del siglo XIX hasta 1994, este dato es importante no olvidarlo. Por la fecha de su publicación Minter no llegó a ver todas ni la mayoría de las consecuencias, pero es una obra imprescindible, creo yo, cuando se trata de conocer algo el panorama que se vivía en los países vecinos de Sudáfrica. Quizá el fallo es que se escora con cierta frecuencia hacia posiciones anti sudafricanas, pese a que trata de evitarlo.