Winning the peace, losing the state? Organised crime, governance and liberal peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique
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2026-12-01Citation:
Chance, Alexander William, Winning the peace, losing the state? Organised crime, governance and liberal peacebuilding in post-war Mozambique, Trinity College Dublin.School of Religion, 2021Download Item:
Abstract:
Good governance and the rule of law have long been considered core components of the liberal peace paradigm, alongside interventions such as opening economies to market forces, reshaping states in line with Western liberal democratic norms, and supporting civil society organisations that uphold liberal values. In post-conflict settings, organised crime frequently exploits deficiencies in governance and the justice system not least through corruption, state weakness and illegitimacy. The rationale underpinning liberal peace praxis suggests that organised crime would diminish in strength and reach as a functioning democracy and a liberalised economy take root, institutions mature and civil society asserts itself. Yet post-war Mozambique indicates otherwise. Until relatively recently hailed for its peaceful transition to democracy and rapid economic development following 25 years of conflict, the country experienced a simultaneous growth in serious criminality across a range of illicit trades, seemingly facilitated by impunity, intimidation and elite corruption. Despite nearly three decades of intense, donor-driven peacebuilding, claims that organised crime had captured the state appeared increasingly credible. This thesis explores that paradox by asking how different forms of governance and organised crime influenced one another in post-war Mozambique, and how those relationships explain the priorities and assumptions of liberal peacebuilding. Adopting a critical yet eirenic approach to examine the nature of peace in Mozambique, the research also uses the concept of hybridity to explore the complex and nuanced dynamics between international and domestic actors. The study emphasises historical and political context to situate and better understand the evolution of such interactions, including the recent emergence of more transactional models. By using these relationships as a lens through which to critically appraise the liberal peace, the thesis provides a new andempirically based perspective on liberal peacebuilding, as well as contributing to incipient scholarship on the governance implications of organised crime in conflict-affected settings. For Peace Research itself, the study acts as a catalyst for greater engagement with the nexus between organised crime and governance as an important determinant of the quality of peace.
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Author: Chance, Alexander William
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Wylie, GillianAtack, Iain
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Trinity College Dublin. School of Religion. Irish School of EcumenicsType of material:
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