Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability
This research paper analyzed a fundamental challenge facing the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (GB) — political instability. Since GB declared independence on September 24, 1973, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC) has failed to bring political stability to what is...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa
2022-11-01
|
| Series: | Janus.net |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://repositorio.ual.pt/bitstream/11144/5693/1/20-PT-vol13-n2-art15.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811199991945887744 |
|---|---|
| author | Francisco José Leandro Paulo Gonçalves |
| author_facet | Francisco José Leandro Paulo Gonçalves |
| author_sort | Francisco José Leandro |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This research paper analyzed a fundamental challenge facing the Republic of Guinea-Bissau
(GB) — political instability. Since GB declared independence on September 24, 1973, the
African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC) has failed to bring
political stability to what is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Reviewing GB’s
political history from its first head of state Luís Cabral (1974–1980) to 2022, we see that there
have been 16 heads of state, 30 heads of government, a considerable number of ministers,
numerous failed national economic development plans, a year-long civil war, two suspensions
of the constitution, and at least four successful coups d’état (and numerous failed attempts).
Today, GB remains one of the least developed countries in the world with poor spatial
development initiatives, is located in a challenging regional environment, and has a politically
relevant diaspora. However, GB is home to approximately two million inhabitants, holds a
remarkable range of fauna and flora, and has a unique immaterial heritage that must be
protected — which can only be achieved with political stability. The protection of this heritage
was an important reason that, in 1996, UNESCO classified the Bolama-Bijagós region as a
World Biosphere Ecological Reserve. Considering all of these aspects, we posed and answered
the following research question: How can Guinea-Bissau overcome its governance instability
as a condition to disentangle itself from its impoverished status? This research question is
particularly important in the context of avoiding being exposed to the economic interests of external actors. Methodologically, we use Dahl’s democracy model (2015) and a qualitative
approach in the context of a data triangulation involving primary sources, official sources, and
media reports. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:57:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a7a826adaeee4b74bb5113d2b1b57661 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1647-7251 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:57:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Janus.net |
| spelling | doaj.art-a7a826adaeee4b74bb5113d2b1b576612022-12-22T03:52:46ZengUniversidade Autónoma de LisboaJanus.net1647-72512022-11-01132354372https://doi.org/10.26619/1647-7251.13.2.15Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stabilityFrancisco José Leandro0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1443-5828Paulo Gonçalves1Ph.D. in political science and international relations (Catholic University of Portugal). He took part in a post-doctoral research programme on state monopolies in China — One belt one road studies. He was awarded the Institute of European Studies in Macau (IEEM) Academic Research Grant, which is a major component of the Asia-Europe Comparative Studies Research Project. He was the Programme Coordinator at the Institute of Social and Legal Studies, Faculty of Humanities at the University of Saint Joseph in Macau, China. He is currently Associate Professor with Habilitation and Associate-Dean of the Institute for Research on Portuguese-Speaking Countries at the City University of Macau (China). His most recent books are titled: Steps of Greatness: The Geopolitics of OBOR (2018), University of Macau; The Challenges, Development and Promise of Timor-Leste (2019), City University of Macau; The Belt and Road Initiative: An Old Archetype of a New Development Model (2020), Palgrave Macmillan; Geopolitics of Iran (2021), Palgrave Macmillan; The Handbook of Special Economic Zones (2021), IGI Global; and Disentangled visions on higher education: Preparing the next generation (2022), Peter Lang Publishers. He is member of OBSERVARE-UAL.Independent researcher and a retired senior officer (Colonel) of the Portuguese Air Force (Portugal). He has a large experience in research and advising international organizations, as he operated in a myriad of functions and tasks, including international engagements in European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the United Nations (UN). Throughout his career, he has operated in 25 different countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa: he worked as a strategic communicator, performed conflict observation and analysis functions for NATO, the EU, and the UN; operated as an electoral support staff member, and program implementer for the United Nations Development Program; and was an advisor at the United Nations political mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA), making analyses and assessments on Afghan regional and national governance. He is currently an independent researcher on international relations, with a particular interest in Portuguese-speaking countries. He collaborates with the City University of Macau regularly on academic research.This research paper analyzed a fundamental challenge facing the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (GB) — political instability. Since GB declared independence on September 24, 1973, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cabo Verde (PAIGC) has failed to bring political stability to what is now one of the poorest countries in the world. Reviewing GB’s political history from its first head of state Luís Cabral (1974–1980) to 2022, we see that there have been 16 heads of state, 30 heads of government, a considerable number of ministers, numerous failed national economic development plans, a year-long civil war, two suspensions of the constitution, and at least four successful coups d’état (and numerous failed attempts). Today, GB remains one of the least developed countries in the world with poor spatial development initiatives, is located in a challenging regional environment, and has a politically relevant diaspora. However, GB is home to approximately two million inhabitants, holds a remarkable range of fauna and flora, and has a unique immaterial heritage that must be protected — which can only be achieved with political stability. The protection of this heritage was an important reason that, in 1996, UNESCO classified the Bolama-Bijagós region as a World Biosphere Ecological Reserve. Considering all of these aspects, we posed and answered the following research question: How can Guinea-Bissau overcome its governance instability as a condition to disentangle itself from its impoverished status? This research question is particularly important in the context of avoiding being exposed to the economic interests of external actors. Methodologically, we use Dahl’s democracy model (2015) and a qualitative approach in the context of a data triangulation involving primary sources, official sources, and media reports.https://repositorio.ual.pt/bitstream/11144/5693/1/20-PT-vol13-n2-art15.pdfguinea-bissaufactionalismpaigcsemi-presidential systempolitical instabilityleast developed country |
| spellingShingle | Francisco José Leandro Paulo Gonçalves Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability Janus.net guinea-bissau factionalism paigc semi-presidential system political instability least developed country |
| title | Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability |
| title_full | Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability |
| title_fullStr | Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability |
| title_short | Brittle Guinea-Bissau: A quest for political and economic stability |
| title_sort | brittle guinea bissau a quest for political and economic stability |
| topic | guinea-bissau factionalism paigc semi-presidential system political instability least developed country |
| url | https://repositorio.ual.pt/bitstream/11144/5693/1/20-PT-vol13-n2-art15.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT franciscojoseleandro brittleguineabissauaquestforpoliticalandeconomicstability AT paulogoncalves brittleguineabissauaquestforpoliticalandeconomicstability |