After decades of civil war and instability, the African country of Angola is experiencing a spectacular economic boom thanks to its most valuable natural resource: oil. Focusing on the everyday realities of people living in the extraction zones, Reed explores the exclusion, degradation, and violence that are the fruits of petrocapitalism in Angola.

Angola has made enormous progress in the nine years since the end of its civil war. It is today one of Africa's wealthiest nations in terms of natural resources, and it is an emerging regional power in Africa. A key uncertainty is about Dos Santos' succession plans. Given the dominance of the MPLA, a disorderly transition could usher in a short period of uncertainty. This process could begin in 2012, following an inevitable MPLA victory in the legislative elections. More threatening are external shocks, especially a collapse in oil prices, because stability in the near term requires using oil rents to pay for goods, services, and patronage to offset rampant poverty and withstand the strain of a rapidly expanding urbanized population. Urban poverty remains Angola's biggest challenge, and it should be a key focus of U.S. development and governance efforts.

Magnificent and Beggar Land is a powerful account of fast-changing dynamics in Angola, an important African state that is a key exporter of oil and diamonds and a growing power on the continent. Based on three years of research and extensive first-hand knowledge of Angola, it documents the rise of a major economy and its insertion in the international system since it emerged in 2002 from one of Africa's longest and deadliest civil wars. The government, backed by a strategic alliance with China and working hand in glove with hundreds of thousands of expatriates, many from the former colonial power, Portugal, has pursued an ambitious agenda of state-led national reconstruction. This has resulted in double-digit growth in Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest economy and a state budget in excess of total western aid to the entire continent. Scarred by a history of slave trading, colonial plunder and war, Angolans now aspire to the building of a decent society. How has the regime, led by President José Eduardo dos Santos since 1979, dealt with these challenges, and can it deliver on popular expectations? Soares de Oliveira's book charts the remarkable course the country has taken in recent years.

Research report, political development, economic development, Angola, 1975-1985 - briefly reviews the economic policy on the eve of independence incl. Working conditions, standard of living, agricultural production, industrial production, trade, and foreign capital; studies economic recession (incl. Imports), the role of the black market, conflict with South Africa R; examines conditions for socialism (incl. Revolutionary change in the political system, nationalization, production relations, food security, etc.). References.

3d edition. Edited by Thomas Collelo. Prepared by Library of Congress, Federal Research Division. Research completed Feb. 1989. Provides information on the history, society, economy, politics, and national security of Angola. Also includes appendices, bibliographies, a glossary, and an index.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic marks the most significant, singular global disruption since World War II, with health, economic, political, and security implications that will ripple for years to come." -Global Trends 2040 (2021) Global Trends 2040-A More Contested World (2021), released by the US National Intelligence Council, is the latest report in its series of reports starting in 1997 about megatrends and the world's future. This report, strongly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, paints a bleak picture of the future and describes a contested, fragmented and turbulent world. It specifically discusses the four main trends that will shape tomorrow's world: - Demographics-by 2040, 1.4 billion people will be added mostly in Africa and South Asia. - Economics-increased government debt and concentrated economic power will escalate problems for the poor and middleclass. - Climate-a hotter world will increase water, food, and health insecurity. - Technology-the emergence of new technologies could both solve and cause problems for human life. Students of trends, policymakers, entrepreneurs, academics, journalists and anyone eager for a glimpse into the next decades, will find this report, with colored graphs, essential reading.