ABSTRACT
Angola expected to achieve a measure of relevance in international relations by playing one superpower off against the other and pursuing nonalignment as the main pillar of foreign policy. More than three decades of war have turned Angola into an extremely militarized and violent society, and it is within this domestic context that the Angolan state has carried out its foreign policy. In retrospect, although the invasions of Zaire exposed Mobutu's vulnerability, the negative repercussions for Angola were much greater, Mobutu's allies, including the United States, France, Belgium, and Morocco, promptly came to his rescue and quickly pushed the invading forces back to Angola. The Reagan Doctrine had an almost immediate impact on the Angolan civil war since National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) became a major recipient of sophisticated US weaponry, including Stinger antiaircraft missiles that for the first time upset the air supremacy enjoyed by the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) government.
