Post-war state-led development at work in Angola : the Zango housing project in Luanda as a case study

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation is a case study of the Zango social housing project in Luanda, the capital ofthe southern African state of Angola. Through an examination of the Zango project, whichwas born on the cusp of peace after nearly 30 years of civil war in 2002, I provide insight intothe nature, workings and possible outcomes of post-war state-led development in Angolaunder non-democratic conditions.I do so by analyzing how the Angolan state 'sees' and does development, as well as how thisdevelopment works. Empirically, this thesis argues that post-war state-led development iscontrolled by the Angolan presidency and financed and managed through extra-governmentalarrangements. This both enables as well as limits state-led development as it allows for themaintenance of a gap between a 'parallel' and the formal state of Angola. In this process,local governments and citizens are largely side-lined as development actors. Yet, through ananalysis of local governance and housing allocation arrangements in Zango, I show that theformal Angolan state is no empty shell and that its officials and those they engage with mayoperate in ways that take ownership of development directed from above.Theoretically, this thesis then argues for a research approach to the African state and state-leddevelopment that is empirically grounded.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University