The sixteen-year-long war in Mozambique between the Frelimo government and Renamo rebels remains one of the most overlooked and misunderstood of the conflicts that raged across Africa during the height of the Cold War. While usually viewed as mere sideshow to more high-profile wars in Angola, Rhodesia and within apartheid South Africa itself, it nonetheless is noteworthy in its complexity, duration and destructiveness. Before it was all over in 1992 at least one million Mozambicans would be dead, millions more homeless and the country lying in ruins. Ultimately Frelimo would get its victory not on the battlefield but rather at the polling booth in 1994. Based on more than a decade of meticulous research, a review of thousands of pages of military records and documents, and dozens of in-depth interviews with political leaders, diplomats, generals, and soldiers and sailors, this book tells the story of the war from the perspective of those who fought it and lived it. It follows Renamo's growth from its Rhodesian roots in 1977 as a weapon against Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwean nationalist guerrillas operating from Mozambique through South African patronage in the early 1980s to Renamo's evolution as a self-sufficient nationalist insurgency. In tracing the ebb and flow of the conflict from the rugged mountains and Savannah forests of central Mozambique across the hot, humid Zambezi River valley and down to the very outskirts of the Mozambican capital in the far south, it examines the operational strategy of Frelimo and Renamo commanders in the field, the battles they fought and the lives of their troops. In doing so it highlights personal struggles, each side's successes and failures, and the missed opportunities to decisively turn the tide of war. Accordingly, this book provides the first real comprehensive military history of a war too long neglected and under appreciated in the chronicles of modern African history.

The book focuses on an area called Maúa, not because I believe Maúa represents the whole of Mozambique as such, but because highlighting a specific area and people helps to understand the Mozambican history more deeply and comprehensively. In any case, it would be impossible to study the experience of all Mozambicans. I am not attempting to write a history textbook of Mozambique, or a glorious history of the liberation struggle, but rather trying to fill a gap in the descriptions of contemporary Mozambican history by delving into matters that have not been written about before.

This is the first scholarly study of soldiers and guerrillas demobilized after the civil war in Mozambique (1979-1992). The book examines former soldiers' - from both sides - return to civilian life, and how their identity as veterans plays out in the political sphere.

Being a first of its kind, this volume comprises a multi-disciplinary exploration of Mozambique’s contemporary and historical dynamics, bringing together scholars from across the globe. Focusing on the country’s vibrant cultural, political, economic and social world – including the transition from the colonial to the postcolonial era – the book argues that Mozambique is a country still emergent, still unfolding, still on the move. Drawing on the disciplines of history, literature studies, anthropology, political science, economy and art history, the book serves not only as a generous introduction to Mozambique but also as a case study of a southern African country. Contributors are: Signe Arnfred, Bjørn Enge Bertelsen, José Luís Cabaço, Ana Bénard da Costa, Anna Maria Gentili, Ana Margarida Fonseca, Randi Kaarhus, Sheila Pereira Khan, Maria Paula Meneses, Lia Quartapelle, Amy Schwartzott, Leonor Simas-Almeida, Anne Sletsjøe, Sandra Sousa, Linda van de Kamp.

Addressing two sets of concerns, this report covers both the abuses relating to the seventeen years of war between the Mozambique Armed Forces and the rebel Mozambique National Resistance, as well as the reforms instigated by the ruling Mozambique Liberation Front under President Joachim Chissano. Africa Watch evaluates the progress made by the Liberation Front government toward a democratic system of government that respects civil and political rights. The 1990 Constitution and related legislation are the centerpiece of this transition, and represent the most wholehearted attempt to build an institutional and legal framework to guarantee respect for human rights so far attempted in the history of Mozambique. Major concerns remain, however, relating to the ability of the government to implement the promised changes.

A timely analysis that provides a pre-history to current debates on decolonisation, the politics of the moving image, and artistic engagements with anti-colonial archives.

"... this study will testify to the nature of Renamo's chaotic search for power as Mozambique moves from Afro-Marxist policies toward a more democratic multiparty state." —Choice "... an invaluable contribution to understanding why things are so bad and providing some glimmering of how a solution might be found... provides a uniquely useful light on Renamo's murky origins and the means by which it manages to sustain itself." —Africa Analysis "... Alex Vines has compiled the most comprehensive and balanced survey to date of the origins and evolution of the Mozambican counter-revolution." —Third World Quarterly "Vines' wide-ranging survey is still the first place to turn for well-documented details on both internal and external aspects of Renamo's war." —International Journal of African Historical Studies "... very informative... it is precisely 'everything you wanted to know about the MNR but were afraid to ask.' " —Terence Ranger Vines's encyclopedic book provides essential information about this successful rebel movement which continues to be dangerous for the Mozambican government, even though South Africa has disengaged from its day-to-day operations.