Angola’s foreign policy & African agenda – Africa’s emerging powerhouse ?

This report results from a commission by the Direction Générale des Relations Internationales et de la Stratégie, Paris, to assess Angola’s Foreign Policy in a short report. The report focusese on Angola’s African strategy and policies – including interests, goals, actors, etc. – and its ability to implement it.
The background and premise for the consultancy, as expressed in the ToR, is Angola’s emergence as a “rising African power” and the query: Can Angola be a positive force in ‘promoting “African solutions to African problems”, even as ‘Angola’s intentions and agendas often appear difficult to read’? Does Angola really have ‘adequate diplomatic and military capabilities – and the ambitions – to be a major player?’
For this study the author drew upon available academic literature on the topic, reports and “grey literature” available on the internet, and a review of relevant foreign policy news coverage. In addition, the author drew upon accumulated insights during fifteen years of research on Angola –
including conversations and interviews with Angola’s political observers – and participation in numerous international conferences about Angola.