The Good, the Bad, and the Awkward

The Making of War Veterans in Postindependence Mozambique

in Conflict and Society
Author:
Nikkie Wiegink Utrecht University n.wiegink@uu.nl

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3167/arcs.2019.050110
Keywords:
citizenship; former combatants; memory politics; Mozambique; reintegration of former combatants; war veterans
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Abstract

This article traces the emergence of three categories of war veterans in postindependence Mozambique: former fighters of the liberation war against the Portuguese colonial administration, the former soldiers of the Mozambican Armed Forces, and former Renamo combatants who both fought in the postindependence war. The article follows the emergence, negotiation, contestation, and transformations of these categories through memory politics, bureaucratic practices of inclusion and exclusion, and veterans’ collective political practices “from below.” By showing how some war veterans are come to be regarded as “worthy” of privileged state resources and others as enemies of the state, while again others are in an in-between position, the article shows how war veterans come to occupy specific citizenship positions and that these positions are contingent and changeable over time.

Contributor Notes

NIKKIE WIEGINK is Assistant Professor at the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Utrecht University. Her current research project focuses on corporate sovereignty and coalmining in Mozambique (funded by the Netherlands Organization for Science Veni scheme). She is the author of the forthcoming book Former Combatants in Mozambique. Email: N.Wiegink@uu.nl

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Conflict and Society

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Cover Conflict and Society
Article Category:
Research Article
Page Count:
18
Keywords:
citizenship; former combatants; memory politics; Mozambique; reintegration of former combatants; war veterans
Print Publication Date:
01 Jun 2019
Online Publication Date:
01 Jun 2019
Copyright:
© Berghahn Books 2019

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