A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Defiant Civil Society: Power and Contestation in Mozambique Marcio Pessôa A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Sussex Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex September 2017 (Resubmitted with small corrections in September 2018) Declaration I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature: Reg. No: 21216695 Date: 12 September 2017 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX MARCIO PESSÔA DPHIL DEVELOPMENT STUDIES DEFIANT CIVIL SOCIETY: POWER AND CONTESTATION IN MOZAMBIQUE Abstract This thesis looks at defiance in civil society and aims to contribute towards a deeper understanding of contestation against regimes that restrict the expansion of the political playing field in sub-Saharan Africa. It also analyses the role of contemporary African activists in these contestations, and examines why some social contestation process are successful and others not. The role of Mozambican activists from aid-supported NGOs in relevant political movements between 2010 and 2015 is a key issue. The first part of the thesis offers a theoretical overview of civil society as contesting actor in Africa and Mozambique, and outlines the construction of concepts of civil society latency, defiance and co-construction through a theoretical framework that draws on the literature on moral economy, social movements, contentious politics, the public sphere, power and competitive authoritarianism. Analysis of two contrasting civil society organisations, the LDH (the League for Human Rights) and UNAC (the Mozambican Peasants’ Union), aims to give a better understanding of public spaces for participation and defiance, and to follow the movement of activists from urban areas towards traditional indigenous sectors so as to ensure that vital issues for communities are brought into the public sphere. It also looks at the neutralisation processes suffered by organisations that offer support and/or directly organise contestation of government initiatives and policies that have a negative impact on the population. The case studies draw on research over a period of three years in the city of Maputo and the provinces of Nampula, Cabo Delgado, Tete, Zambezia and Manica. They examine the reasons for contestations around land issues between 2010-2015, focusing on peasants' and NGOs' resistance to the ProSAVANA agrarian development project, and on urban protests against abductions and against the 2012-2015 return to civil war, investigating the role of European donors and government in the near destruction of one of the most well- known NGOs in Africa. iii “Power is a fragile thing. It tolerates no threat. Defiance must be met with an example of the wages of defiance.” (Senator Roark in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”, Frank Miller - 2014) iv For Gilles Cistac, in memoriam. v Acknowledgment Throughout this journey, which is now drawing to a close, I have had the honour to meet many wonderful people, some with whom I have only shared a few words, and others with whom I have forged deep friendships. These are the protagonists of the dense emotional network that has marked almost ten years of my life, which I have spent moving between the very different environments of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Brazil, England and Germany. The people I have met have shared their challenging and frustrating professional and personal experiences as well as their happy narratives, and I remember these all with affection. Some of these people should be singled out. In Mozambique and Zimbabwe, I am immensely grateful for the friendship and generosity of Augusta Eduardo, Aunício da Silva, Clifford, Ruvimbo and Rose Mavhiki, Elizabeth Musonza, Diocliciano Freitas, Estácio Valoy, Jorge Como, Joseph Matongo, Júlio Calengo, Landry Nouck, Mcdonald Lewanika, Mr. Mao, Marcio Gagliato, Sylvia Nogueira, Marílio Wane, Maria Mache Malomalo, Marta Barroso, Memory Pamella Kadau, Mfundo Mlilo, Nair Kassolo, Hodzi Obert, Pedro Schunemann Christofaro Silva, Rabia Jessub- Mashiri, Rafael Gonzalez Vallejo, Romeo Silva, Salva Rever, Stefano Fontana, Stella Manhiça, Tania Herbert, Tarcísio Abibo, Tchetcho Mendes, Virgínia de Jesus, and Zé Mahumane. Due to issues of confidentiality, I cannot cite certain names of activists and members of civil society organisations, however, I would like to express my gratitude to them all for having welcomed me and given me the most incredible experiences. I have tremendous respect for you, your dreams, and for what you stand for. My time in England with Angela Dowman, Calo Giametta, Chryssy Hunter, Katia Taela, Lydia Cabral, Maisa Shquier, Paulina Bednarz. Thomas Cooper Patriota and Zoe Sullivan, was inspiring and unforgettable. Thank you also to Juliet Attwater and all BLDS and University of Sussex Library staff, whose support has been vital in completing this work. To my beloved family in Brazil, I would like to give a special thank you to Joseane, Marcelo, Marcos, Aline Pessôa, Pedro and Telma for their constant and unconditional encouragement, and Josefina and Vanderlei for starting what I am achieving now. Dear professor Sandra de Deus, thank you for the important support in the beginning of this journey. To my dear friends Alessandra Braga and Renato Silva, Ataídes Miranda, Caco Rocha, Daniel Trentini and Joara vi Pippi, Eduardo da Camino and Aline Passuelo de Oliveira, Fabiano Nadler, Flávia Cunha and Piquet Coelho, Gabi Silva, Marcelo Reichelt and Rochele Pahs, Renato Larsen, Rodrigo Jacobus, Thaís Werutsky and Tiago Alemão, thank you for your friendship that has kept me going throughout, even when the work seemed interminable. In Germany, the support and encouragement from Alexandre Schossler, Angelika Simon, António Rocha, Cristina Krippahl, Glória Sousa, Kwaku Yeboah, Maria João Pinto, Nádia Issufo, Ralf Kleinfeld, Roland Czada and Ulrich Schneckener will never be forgotten. I would also like to thank Cornelia Möller, for all her patience and understanding, particularly over the final months of this work. My respect and appreciation go to Dr Monica Threlfall and Dr Patta-Scott Villiers for their help in opening doors to the IDS to me. My thanks go also to Dr Alex Shankland for his positive attitude, contributions and understanding, particularly in 2016, when his enthusiasm for the project made a huge difference to the end result of this thesis. vii Contents CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 The public sphere, real issues, defiance and co-construction 2 1.2 Civil society in sub-Saharan Africa 5 1.3 Defiance at civil society in Mozambique 13 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH APPROACHES, SITES AND SPACES 16 2.1 Civil society and the emergence of issues 16 2.2 Co-construction 17 2.3 Defiance 20 2.3.1 DCS, social movements and contentious politics 22 2.3.2 Defiance, violent and nonviolent actions 24 2.3.3 Defiance and moral economy 25 2.4 Neutralisation and outcomes 28 2.5 Connecting the elements of the conceptual framework 30 2.6 Research aims, questions and methods 31 2.6.1 The coverage of defiance 32 2.6.2 Positionality, changes in expectations and solutions 33 2.6.3 Defiant images and interviews 37 2.6.4 Data Analysis 39 CHAPTER 3: THE ORIGIN OF DEFIANCE IN CIVIL SOCIETY AND THE HYBRID REGIME 41 3.1 The roots of the local elite and defiance in Mozambique 41 3.1.1 Muzungo society and the kidnap stigma 41 3.1.2 Paradigm change and latency 45 3.1.3 The real issue for the local elite 47 3.1.4 Press, associativism and latency break 48 3.1.5 The cycles of contention up to the New State 49 3.2 Liberation and Civil Wars 54 viii 3.3 Civil society organisations after the liberation 56 3.4 Hybridism in the Mozambican State 58 3.4.1 Stagnant democracy 59 3.4.2 Organisational power of the state 62 CHAPTER 4: DEFIANT CIVIL SOCIETY IN MOZAMBIQUE: ACTIVISM, RESILIENCE AND CRACKDOWNS 67 4.1 The exogenous components in the contestation environment 67 4.1.1 The intermediary organisations 68 4.1.2 The professional and bourgeois local elite 69 4.2 Physical dimension 71 4.2.1 Implementation of a regulatory legal framework 72 4.2.2 Implementation of the AGIR project 74 4.3 Cognitive Dimension 77 4.4 Transgressive Dimension 79 4.4.1 The anomalies of invited spaces 79 4.4.2 Reduction in the political playing field 81 4.4.3 The transgressive arm of the state 84 4.5 The state power of neutralisation 85 CHAPTER 5: CO-CONSTRUCTION, DEFIANCE AND NEUTRALISATION AT A NATIONAL LEVEL 86 5.1 The communitarian paradigm of land issues 86 5.2 The rise of evolutionism in land issues 88 5.2.1 State/Party dualism 89 5.3 Civil society and co-construction 93 5.3.1 Political-ideological factors during the co-construction 93 5.3.2 Economic vulnerability and the collapse of co-construction 95 5.3.3 Political vulnerability and rural advocacy 97 5.4 UNAC and ORAM in defiance 98 5.4.1 Why was UNAC a defiance leader? 102