Angola S Last Best Chance for Peace: An Insider S Account of the Peace Process

Mediation is harder work than the mainstream media is able (or at least willing) to let on. For that reason, a book like this is an invaluable resource for anyone thinking of a career in diplomacy. Historically speaking, Hare's book is outdated, since peace has come, gone, and come again in Angola since it was published in 1998. Nonetheless, it's a valuable study of a crucial period in the country's long road to recovery from civil war, from the perspective of a participant who had an almost-inside view of both camps in the dispute. I'm persuaded that the Angolan reviewers above have a point, that Hare is too much of an outsider to have a complete appreciation of what their country went through. What he does provide completely, though, is an insider's look at the realities of American diplomacy, how it works, and why it doesn't always work quickly. It's a great case study of a difficult case, valuable to students of both African and American politics.Angola, still in the midst of a decades-long battle when Hare's work began, is a good example of the ultimate challenge in that field. Hare's style is a bit dry, but his accounts of the two steps up, one step back peace process is refreshingly straightforward and devoid of political spin, to a degree that has been almost unthinkable in America for quite some time now. Although Hare shows no sign of any political agenda beyond that dictated by his job, this study gives the lie to any argument that the Clinton administration's interest in Africa began and ended with Somalia or that it was inept on the international stage. The leaders of both sides of the conflict are presented in a surprisingly reasonable light given the circumstances, and Hare at least tries to account for the convoluted political lay of the land as the war appeared to draw to a conclusion. Some previous familiarity with recent Angolan history is certainly helpful in understanding the story, but all the basics are here. It ends on an appropriately uncertain note, but events since the end of Hare's account have demonstrated that the efforts weren't wasted.

why does it take so long to get such a good book

This is one more typical politically correct description on Angola Crisis, by the US point of view. The history go further on the ground.