The political economy of Mozambique twenty years on: a post-conflict success story?

Abstract

The following article investigates the state of Mozambique's political economy 20 years after the end of its civil war between FRELIMO and RENAMO, in 1992. This paper is written from the theoretical perspectives of growing criticism of the neo-liberal assumptions that underlie development policy and places the analysis of Mozambique's economic growth and development within the field of development studies as they are played out in African realities. Mozambique is viewed by the donor community and multilateral institutions as a success story of post-war construction, yet a closer look at the development outcomes in Mozambique calls this conclusion into question. The paper found that, despite improvements in reducing the number of people living in poverty between 1992 and 2012, hunger persists and malnutrition and diseases such as malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis are on the increase. The author concludes that global governance reforms that take cognisance of Mozambique's and indeed Africans governance challenges are needed to forge a development paradigm relevant for Africa.