Great- and Medium-Power Mediations: Angola

Abstract

Two types of conflict situations existed concurrently in Angola: conflict in the interstate realm and conflict in the intrastate realm. In this article, the conflict management processes are analyzed by dealing separately with these two realms of mediatory activity. After an examination of the origins of interstate and intrastate tensions, the different mediation processes and their apparent consequences are compared and contrasted. The great- and medium-power mediators are differentiated in terms of their status, determination, and the resources they were able to bring to bear on the various disputing parties. The Zairian and Portuguese mediation processes are then analyzed in terms of the change over time in the incentives influencing the preferences of the various actors. In the concluding section, an attempt is made to link the shift in actor incentives and the mediators' resources, abilities, and motivations to moves toward a settlement of each conflict situation.

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References

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ibid., 91(084):16 (1 May 1991).

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24. For one participant in the mediation process, linkage was the “only available framework for a settlement.” Freeman, “The Angola/Namibia Accord,” p. 133. Also see Colin Legum, “Southern Africa: Analysis of the Peace Process,” Third World Reports, 11 Jan. 1989, L.B/1, p. 6; G. R. Berridge , “Diplomacy and the Angola/Namibia Accords,” International Affairs (London), 65(3):471 (Summer 1989).

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as reproduced in Foreign Broadcast Information Service , Sub-Saharan Africa, 91(085):16 (2 May 1991).