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This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the state of large-scale infrastructure in Africa, highlighting a gap between improving development scores and persistent financing deficits. It analyzes the roles of Chinese investment via the Belt and Road Initiative, the impact of pan-African initiatives like PIDA, and the transition toward green, climate-resilient infrastructure.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies examines the stagnation of African agricultural productivity since independence, highlighting the roles of poor policy, land tenure issues, conflict, and climate change in maintaining a significant yield gap compared to the rest of the world.

This briefing note by the South African Institute of International Affairs examines how the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU) can collaborate to reform global governance, specifically the UN Security Council (UNSC), amidst a period of systemic rupture and geopolitical fragmentation.

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) and the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) analyzes the potential for the EU-AU summit in Luanda to reinvigorate the partnership between Europe and Africa as a driver for multilateral reform, specifically regarding global peace, security, and governance.

This report by the Institute for Security Studies analyzes the electoral landscape in Angola ahead of the August 24, 2022, general elections. It argues that the political environment is highly uneven, favoring the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) through the control of state resources, media, and judicial institutions, while facing a revitalized opposition coalition.

This research paper analyzes the strategic relationship between Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during a period of political transition in Angola. It argues that ensuring a stable and predictable DRC is Angola's primary foreign policy objective, though Luanda's support for President Joseph Kabila has diminished due to electoral delays and regional instability.

This report analyzes the political and economic instability facing Angola during the transition from President José Eduardo dos Santos to his chosen successor, Joao Lourenco, ahead of the August 2017 elections. It identifies critical fault lines, including a severe liquidity crisis, systemic corruption, and a securitized state apparatus, arguing that genuine reform is necessary to prevent the country from unraveling.

This research paper examines the rapid pace of urbanisation in Africa, forecasting population trends and identifying the structural challenges that hinder sustainable urban development. It focuses on the emergence of megacities and the disconnect between urban growth and economic structural transformation.

This policy briefing examines the partnership between China and Angola in constructing satellite towns to address Angola's housing crisis, focusing on the Kilamba Kiaxi project as a case study. It analyzes the 'resources for infrastructure' financing model and identifies challenges regarding local adaptation, affordability, and the provision of public services.

This research paper by the Institute for Security Studies critiques the 2012 SADC Ordinary Summit in Maputo, arguing that the organization is increasingly neglecting security and political governance in favor of economic integration. The author contends that this separation ignores the necessary links between political stability and economic development, leaving critical governance crises and security frameworks unaddressed in the summit's agenda.

This August 2012 report by the Institute for Security Studies provides early warning analyses on political and security crises in Mali, Libya, Angola, and Somalia, while examining the evolving role of China in African peace and security efforts.

This case study examines the operational barriers faced by Tristan, a firm exporting a variety of goods from South Africa to markets including Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, and the DRC. The document details significant challenges regarding visa procurement, customs clearance, banking inefficiencies in Angola, and restrictive fish export permits in South Africa.

This briefing analyzes the political structure of Angola between 2008 and 2010, arguing that the state operates through two parallel ruling structures: a formal government led by the MPLA and a more resilient 'shadow' government controlled by the presidency. The author examines how President José Eduardo Dos Santos uses this dual system, supported by the national oil company Sonangol, to maintain power, manage patronage, and marginalize potential rivals within the party and the state.

This research paper examines the role of co-operatives in governing the artisanal fisheries sector in Angola. It argues that co-operatives can serve as a mechanism for co-management and a tool for formalising a largely informal subsector, provided they are treated as voluntary, bottom-up enterprises rather than top-down state instruments.

This research paper by Nicole Fritz for the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) analyzes the 2008 campaign by southern African civil society to block the MV 'An Yue Jiang', a Chinese vessel attempting to deliver arms to the Zimbabwe Defence Force. The author examines the legal strategies, regional coordination, and geopolitical factors that led to the ship's failure to deliver its cargo, ultimately returning to China.

This case study describes how coordinated civil society actions across Southern Africa successfully blocked a shipment of weapons destined for Zimbabwe following controversial elections.

The September 5, 2008, Angolan legislative elections—the first in 16 years—resulted in a landslide victory for the MPLA (82%) over fragmented opposition parties. While viewed as a step toward democracy, the process was marred by media manipulation, National Electoral Commission impartiality concerns, and logistical failures in Luanda. Long-term stability is further threatened by poverty, wealth mismanagement, and an ineffective DDR process for ex-combatants.

This briefing by the Institute for Security Studies analyses the 5 September 2008 Angolan legislative elections, in which the ruling MPLA won a landslide victory. The author argues that the result was achieved through a combination of state resource monopoly, media manipulation, and the intimidation of opposition forces, thereby limiting the prospects for genuine democratic consolidation in Angola.

This research paper argues that China's engagement with Africa is fundamentally transforming China's own foreign policy and self-conception. While Western perspectives often focus on how China's 'no conditions' approach undermines good governance in Africa, the author contends that ties with African 'pariah and petro-states' are instead reshaping Beijing's diplomatic certitudes, forcing it to move away from its strict principle of non-intervention toward supporting internationally-sanctioned interventions in specific conflicts.

This report chapter provides a military history of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), tracing its evolution from the liberation movements of the 1960s through the Angolan Civil War to its status as a peacetime national institution. It details the integration of three primary military wings—FAPLA, ELNA, and FALA—and the significant role of foreign intervention from the Soviet Union, Cuba, the United States, Zaire, and South Africa in shaping the conflict and the eventual formation of the FAA.