Are there warlords in provincial Mozambique? Questions of the social base of MNR banditry

Abstract

Exploring the origins, nature and consequences of MNR violence and murder, this article argues that Renamo does not conform to the classical characteristics of warlordism. It does not represent a cession of central control to local interests; rather it is an attack on the national sovereignty of Mozambique created and perpetuated by external powers. Nevertheless, in some areas the externally imposed proxy war may have been able to achieve a certain local dynamic and so, to this extent, the warlord concept may have some limited usefulness. Darch also completely rejects the idea that the MNR can be considered to be a case of ‘social banditry’, even allowing for the weaknesses inherent in this concept.