ABSTRACT
Serious attempts have been made to liberalize the economy and the political system since the beginning of the 1990s in Angola. It would be natural to take a pessimistic view of Angola's options for lasting peace and economic recovery. Such a view would be amply justified by the experiences of other countries that have gone through similar developments and by Angola's own recent history, with its numerous failed attempts at peace and reconstruction. This book adopts a "cautiously optimistic" approach for three reasons. First, the national experience during the brief interlude of peace and economic and political liberalization between 1991 and 1992 demonstrated that Angola has the potential to use its economic resources constructively and that there is a basis for a more open and pluralistic society. A second challenge is to relate constructively to the strong polarization of viewpoints on Angola. And a third challenge is to maintain distance in the analysis.
