Angola: The politics of unsustainable development

Armed conflict facilitates corruption and Angola presents a dramatic case study of this process. This article explores why the political context represents the key impediment to sustainable development. Solve the political problems and the gates are open for the Angolan people to reap the benefits of an abundant natural resource base with a low population density. The country has been trying to undergo three transitions simultaneously, that from war to peace, from single-party rule to multiparty democracy and from a commandbased to a free-market economy. The article explores these processes and their effects on changing patterns of corruption.