Brothers at War

Dissidence and Rebellion in Southern Africa

Abiodun Alao

 

Book not available in Zimbabwe.

Synopsis

Civil War in many areas of Southern Africa has caused human disaster on a huge scale. While Zimbabwe alone has largely escaped this, Mozambique has been reduced to the status of the poorest, most aid-dependent state in Africa and UNITA's war in Angola continues. Abiodun Alao's account of the deep-rooted ethnic and ideological divisions in all three territories explores the ways in which this state of almost permanent instability and conflict emerged during and after the struggle for independence, and the extent to which existing tensions within the region were internationalized and exacerbated during the Cold War.

Review

[Alao's] ambition is to update the literature on civil tensions, not to "break new ground" in research. The book is merely descriptive and certainly does not provide the promised comparative perspective. - Anna Maria Gentili, The International Journal of African Historical Studies

Author

Abiodun Alao is Professor of African Studies at King's College London. In 2000, he was part of the team that undertook a comprehensive Threat Assessment for Rwanda after the genocide.