After sixteen years of civil conflict, Mozambique experienced a successful transition to peace, despite numerous social, political, and economic conditions that were not conducive to peace or democracy. This essay explores the reasons for this successful outcome. It argues that, in Mozambique and elsewhere, scholars have tended to overlook the role of bilateral donors in underpinning UN-led interventions designed to broker the transition from war to peace via democratic statebuilding. In Mozambique, longstanding relationships between bilateral donors and belligerents and the ability of committed donors to provide flexible, coordinated efforts to implement the peace process were critical to the construction of a durable peace.
Mozambique’s success is the result of a combination of factors. These include the intervention of the UN Observation Mission in Mozambique (UNOMOZ) from 1992 to 1994, longstanding relationships between the government of Mozambique and the particular donors, who would later play a key role in the war-to-peace transition, the repercussions of regional and more distant international events, and the choices of the warring parties’ leaders. Also crucial was the existence of a viable state structure, which was capable of delivering on commitments made at the negotiating table. Donor support largely bolstered and facilitated this state capacity in important ways during the years leading up to the peace agreement.
The UN operation has received much credit for the success of the peace process in Mozambique. While the UN was crucial in overseeing the cease-fire and providing the overarching formal framework within which the peace process was carried out, the success of this process largely depended upon flexible and responsive interventions on the part of bilateral donors who stepped in to supplement the mandate and resources of the UNOMOZ. Less visible, but not less important, was the impact that many of these same donors had on bolstering the capacity and confidence of the Mozambican government in the years leading up to the peace agreement.
