José Patrocínio

Some 33 years after his nation’s independence from Portugal, José Patrocinio reviews Angola’s political history, revolutionary spirit, and democratic struggles. In the face of marked contemporary inequalities in spite of considerable national economic growth, the author salutes the role of civil society in providing an electoral check and as source of continual debate and momentum for the more equitable distribution of power.

Josué Bila

33 years after its independence from Portugal, Mozambique is still yet to have signed the Pacto Internacional dos Direitos Económicos, Sociais e Culturais (PIDESC). In his review of Mozambican post-colonial political history, Josué Bila offers his perspective on the struggle for the protection of social, cultural, and economic rights within the country, while lamenting the Mozambican state’s reluctance to sign up to a international system of legal obligations around human rights.