Abstract

RESENDE, Madalena Meyer  and  ALMEIDA, Claudia Generoso de. The role of the Catholic Church the post-war democratization in Angola and Mozambique. Relações Internacionais [online]. 2018, n.59, pp.43-63. ISSN 1645-9199.  https://doi.org/10.23906/ri2018.59a04.

Several authors have considered the role of religious actors in democratization processes around the world. This article aims to analyze the role of the Catholic Church in the post-war democratization in Angola and Mozambique, two African countries that share several historical traits, but in which the church had different degrees of prominence. Three factors help to explain that difference: 1) the financial autonomy of the church towards the state 2) the inter-religious cooperation 3) the geopolitical dimension of the civil war. This research shows that the Catholic Church, guided by its pro-democratic doctrine, benefiting from high permeation over the society and dense networks throughout the territory became the main religious actor in both countries’ democratization and pacification.

Keywords : Catholic Church; post-war democratization; Angola; Mozambique.

        · abstract in Portuguese     · text in Portuguese     · Portuguese ( pdf )