East Africa after Liberation: Conflict, Security and the State since the 1980s (African Studies)

"Between 1986 and 1994, East Africa's postcolonial, political settlement was profoundly challenged as four revolutionary 'liberation' movements seized power in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Uganda. After years of armed struggle against vicious dictatorships, these movements transformed from rebels to rulers, promising to deliver 'fundamental change'. This study exposes, examines and underlines the acute challenges each has faced in doing so. Drawing on over 130 interviews with the region's post-liberation elite, undertaken over the course of a decade, Jonathan Fisher takes a fresh and empirically-grounded approach to explaining the fast-moving politics of the region over the last three decades, focusing on the role and influence of its guerrilla governments. East Africa after Liberation sheds critical light on the competing pressures post-liberation governments contend with as they balance reformist aspirations with accommodation of counter-vailing interests, historical trajectories and their own violent organisational cultures"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series information 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Dedication 7 Contents 9 List of Maps 10 Acknowledgements 11 List of Abbreviations 14 Introduction 17 The Book 19 Acronyms 22 Approach, Argument and Contribution 23 The Politics of Aspiration 26 The Politics of Accommodation 29 The Politics of Affinity 31 Guerrilla Insurgency and Post-liberation Elites in Africa 34 Post-liberation Elites 35 Liberation Insurgencies and Post-liberation Regimes 36 The Politics of Research in Post-liberation States 40 Source Material 43 Structure of the Book 46 Part I Insurgency 51 1 East Africa's Post-liberation Elite and the Legacy of Insurgency I: Movement, State and Society 53 Ideological Agenda 56 Great Lakes: 56 Four Movements: 58 Unpacking 'Liberation' 58 Great Lakes: 59 Horn of Africa: 62 Four Movements: 63 Accommodation and Compromise 66 Horn of Africa: 67 Great Lakes: 69 State, Organisation and Structure 73 Great Lakes: 73 Horn of Africa: 75 Internal Hierarchies 76 Horn of Africa: 77 Great Lakes: 80 Discipline 81 Great Lakes: 82 Horn of Africa: 84 Militarised Movements 84 Conclusion 87 2 East Africa's Post-liberation Elite and the Legacy of Insurgency II: From Rebellion to Government 90 Support Base and Mechanisms 91 Support from African States 92 Great Lakes: 93 Horn of Africa: 94 Support from Northern States 95 Support beyond the State 96 Horn of Africa: 97 Great Lakes: 98 Rebel Governance and Rebel Alliances 99 Great Lakes: 100 Horn of Africa: 101 Wartime Experience 104 Great Lakes: 105 Horn of Africa: 105 Tackling Rival Insurgencies and Securing Movement Hegemony 106 Great Lakes: 107 Horn of Africa: 107 Four Movements: 111 Guerrilla Warfare? 112 Horn of Africa: 112 Great Lakes: 113 Four Movements: 114 Nature of Victory and Post-conflict Transition 114 The Post-liberation Settlement 116 Conclusion 122 Part II Liberation 125 3 From Rebels to Diplomats: Pragmatism, Aspiration and Mistrust, 1986–1995 127 Legacies of Struggle and Securing the State 130 The Consolidation of EPRDF Supremacy in Ethiopia, 1991–1992 131 Tense Negotiations over Eritrean Independence, 1991–1993 136 Securing Uganda, Second-Guessing Khartoum: The NRM and Sudan, 1986–1989 139 Revolution, Solidarity and a 'New Order'? 142 Negotiating 'Pan-Africanism' in the Shadow of Insurgency 145 Managing Mistrust I: The EPRDF's 'New Approach' to Somalia, 1991–1996 146 Managing Mistrust II: Museveni and Moi, 1986–1995 154 Managing Mistrust III: Museveni and Habyarimana, 1986–1994 157 Building a Revolutionary Alliance, against Khartoum 165 Conclusion 172 4 Reinventing Liberation: Revolution and Regret in Congo and Sudan, 1995–2000 174 From Threat to Opportunity: The Genesis of a Regional Project in Southern Sudan 177 The Origins of a Regional Anti-Khartoum Bloc, 1993–1996 181 Enter Rwanda: Jump-Starting a 'Liberation Coalition', 1994–1996 183 The Language of Liberation: A Methodological Consideration 187 The Apotheosis of the Regional Liberation Project: Zaïre and the Fall of Mobutu, 1995–1998 188 The Genesis and Evolution of the Congo Wars, 1995–1998 189 The AFDL 194 'Congo II' 197 Unpacking the Liberation Coalition 198 Conclusion 204 Part III Crisis 207 5 The Disintegration of the Liberation Coalition, 1998–2007 209 Badme, Kisangani and the Wars of the Brothers, 1998–2000 211 War in the Horn 214 Clashes in Congo 223 From Friends to Enemies, from Enemies to Friends: Beyond Post-Liberation Politics, 2000–2007 230 A New Beginning: Post-Liberation Polities and Their Neighbours, 2000–2007 234 Winning the Propaganda War: Washington, London and East Africa, 1998–2006 241 Conclusion 247 6 From Regional Conflict to Domestic Crisis: Regime Consolidation and the Fragmentation of the Old Guard, ca. 2000–2007 249 Narratives of Treason and Tyranny: Post-Liberation Elites and Their Leaders in Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Eritrea, ca. 1996–2006 252 From Movement to Man: Uganda 253 Corruption, Treachery and Dictatorship: Rwanda and Eritrea 258 Victor Narratives 260 Narratives of the Vanquished 264 Bonapartism and the Ascendancy of Meles Zenawi: Ethiopia 269 Liberation Legacies and Authoritarian State-Building in East Africa 274 Identity 275 The Catalysing Impact of Regional Relations 279 Conclusion 285 Conclusion: East Africa's Second Liberation? 288 Affinity 289 Accommodation and Aspiration 294 Bibliography 304 Interviews (On the Record) 304 Interviews (Anonymised) 306 Archives 311 Newspapers, Online Media, State Agencies and Reports 312 Presentations 313 Unpublished Manuscripts 313 Published Books, Chapters and Articles 313 Index 328 From 1986 to 1994, East Africa's postcolonial, political order was profoundly challenged when four revolutionary 'liberation' movements seized power. This novel, far-reaching analysis focuses on the crisis of East Africa's postcolonial political order, and the attempts by four revolutionary movements to disrupt, transform and reconstitute it.