Stoleroff, Maria Matilde Patrício (2013) Social Boundaries, Political Elite Bargains and (Dis)Order in Guinea‐Bissau, 1974‐1998
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Stoleroff, Maria Matilde Patrício (2013) Social boundaries, political elite bargains and (dis)order in Guinea‐Bissau, 1974‐1998. PhD Thesis. SOAS, University of London http://eprints.soas.ac.uk/18441 Copyright © and Moral Rights for this thesis are retained by the author and/or other copyright owners. A copy can be downloaded for personal non‐commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the copyright holder/s. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. When referring to this thesis, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given e.g. AUTHOR (year of submission) "Full thesis title", name of the School or Department, PhD Thesis, pagination. SOCIAL BOUNDARIES, POLITICAL ELITE BARGAINS AND (DIS)ORDER IN GUINEA-BISSAU, 1974-1998 MARIA MATILDE PATRÍCIO STOLEROFF Thesis submitted for the degree of PhD in Development 2013 Department of Development Studies SOAS, University of London Declaration for PhD thesis I have read and understood regulation 17.9 of the Regulations for students of the SOAS, University of London concerning plagiarism. I undertake that all the material presented for examination is my own work and has not been written for me, in whole or in part, by any other person. I also undertake that any quotation or paraphrase from the published or unpublished work of another person has been duly acknowledged in the work which I present for examination. Signed: ____________________________ Date: 19/12/2013 2 ABSTRACT This thesis explores the establishment, breakdown and re-establishment of political order in Guinea-Bissau by examining the evolution of the shape and character of its political elite bargains from independence to the outbreak of the civil war in 1998. While there are a variety of scholarly approaches that focus on the structural conditions under which violent conflict is prone to erupt in underdeveloped countries, this thesis adopts an interactional approach to better appreciate how Guinea-Bissau’s political elite bargains have evolved and how these developments explain the outbreak of conflict at a given time. It takes off from and develops North et al’s (2009) framework on limited access orders and the Crisis State Research Centre’s approach to state fragility and resilience and contributes to the study of political elite bargains by proposing that a social boundary analysis is central for assessing degrees of a bargain’s inclusivity/exclusivity and for better understanding what lead to changes in the bargains shape and character. It suggests that as relationships are both the “glue” and the “scissors” underpinning every elite bargain, the analysis of their evolution is key to problems of order and disorder. Applying this method of analysis, it provides a detailed examination of how elite relationships in Guinea-Bissau have changed over time based upon extensive documental research and interviewing with key actors and informants. It explains which, why and how different political identities have emerged, gained and decreased in political relevance, and how their interactions have shaped subsequent interaction and produced political change. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the time that I was struggling to complete this thesis my mind wandered a lot. Mostly I wished to be already at the stage where I could thank everybody who helped me through those times. I thought that at least that part would be easy. I was wrong: conveying in words the amount of gratitude that I feel towards those who accompanied me throughout these four years - whether personally or academically - requires the mastery of poetry. However, as my supervisor often told me, if it is hard then I must be doing something right. My supervisor, Dr. Zoë Marriage, enlightened every step of the way. Dr. Marriage gave me the invaluable assistance, guidance, unrelenting support and encouragement that kept me going. To Zoë, I also thank her friendship. I am indebted to Prof. Jonathan Goodhand for his discussions and for pointing out the right books at exactly the right time. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Jennings for his useful comments to my research project and for having told me that on the top of my reading list should be Amílcar Cabral. It was, indeed, the place to start. During these four years in London, I have met exceptional people who made this learning process a lot more fun and a bit less hard. Maria Angeles Alaminos (Cuqui), Jesús Peréz, Zahed Yousuf and Raphael Corbi have undoubtedly contributed to this knowledge-pleasure nexus. My PhD colleagues walked beside me all the way. I would especially like to thank Jay Lingham, Nina Kaysser and Shalini Sharma for their readiness in hearing me ramble on about my work, discussing it with me and for sharing my preoccupations. I am particularly grateful to Alexandre Abreu, my Luso-SOAS-Bissau friend, who has given me so much both intellectually and personally. The SOAS Doctoral School was my first home during my fourth year and I would like to thank Micha Wiebusch for actually making it feel like home. In Guinea-Bissau, the list is long. This thesis would have never been possible without those who took the time to meet with me and spent various hours telling me their life story and teaching me about their country. Likewise, without the assistance and help of Ercílio Évora, Inácio Valentim and Fadel Indao this research project would have remained incomplete. I 4 would also like to thank Salvador Pinto da França for his generosity; Gorka Gamarra for his stimulating conversations; Maria João Carreiro for all her help; Marta Ceitil and Raquel Marchant for sharing several special times with me; António Aly Silva for various laughs together and for letting me into the Bissauan circle of political intrigues; Vincent Foucher, for so kindly having read my chapter 5 and giving me clever remarks; Ana Paula and Carlitos, who made my life in Bissau tastier and safer and Pedro Naso, for being the best flat mate. In Lisbon, three people in particular have helped me in different ways with this thesis. I would like to express my gratitude to: Prof. Jaime Nogueira Pinto for opening the necessary doors so that I could interview the people that I did; Prof. Ronald Chilcote (whom I met in Lisbon) for both having written on Guinea-Bissau’s revolutionary years, for reading a draft of my thesis and giving extremely pertinent comments; and Prof. Marc Renaud - my stepfather - for constructively challenging my thoughts and for his encouraging words. Then there are those who have helped in more ways than they could possibly imagine and whose existence makes life meaningful: Filipa Brigola, Marta Pitta e Cunha, Margarida Sousa e Silva, Teresa Nogueira Pinto (Batoqinhos), Rita Cabral, Rita Palha, Rosarinho Palha and Rui Aguiar. Lastly, there is my family. I will always be grateful to my grandmother, Avó Luísa, for being there when things go well or wrong; to my grandfather, Avô António, who is not here with us but whose kindness and gentleness I carry with me; to my grandparents - Albert and Phyllis - for being exactly what grandparents should be like; and to Martim, my brother, for even at a distance, being close. My mother and father are, as ever and always, my inspiration and strength. I only hope that in every sentence they read of this thesis they know how much it also belongs to them. Diogo - o meu querido -, who makes thanking the hardest and yet the most heartfelt, has made sense to all of this and everything else. To both Diogo and my parents, even this falls short of my appreciation: I dedicate this thesis to you. Financial support throughout this thesis was generously provided by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (grant reference No. SFRH/BD/60202/2009 funded by POPH- QREN, co-funded by the European Social Fund). 5 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ANP Assembleia Nacional Popular CEL Comité Executivo da Luta CFA Communauté Financière d’Afrique CIDAC Centro de Informação e Documentação Amílcar Cabral CSL Conselho Superior da Luta CSRC Crisis State Research Centre ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EU European Union FARP Forças Armadas Revolucionárias do Povo FLING Frente da Luta pela Independência Nacional da Guiné IMF International Monetary Fund INEP Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisa ISCTE Instituto Superior de Ciências do Trabalho e da Empresa JAAC Juventude Africana de Amílcar Cabral MFDC Mouvement des Forces Démocratiques de Casamance PAIGC Partido Africano da Independência da Guiné e Cabo Verde PAIGV Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde PCD Partido da Convergência Democrática PIDE Polícia Internacional de Defesa do Estado PRS Partido para a Renovação Social SOCOMIN Sociedade Comercial e Industrial da Guiné-Bissau UCP Universidade Católica Portuguesa UD União Democrática UN United Nations UPANG União Patriótica Anti-Neocolonialista da Guiné-Bissau WB World Bank WBDI World Bank Development Indicators 6 GLOSSARY assimilado inhabitants of the colonies who had assimilated into Portuguese culture and had legal benefits armazéns do povo people’s stores; government import-export warehouses bermedju literally red; refers to a creole elite chefe de posto Portuguese district officer civilizados inhabitants of the colonies considered to have been fully integrated into Portuguese norms