Webinar Series

The State of Research on Transformations in Angola: As a part of the Angolan-Norwegian research programme, a series of webinars are scheduled from March to May 2021 to stimulate debate and open conversation on the past, present and future of Angola

This page will be updated with content from each webinar including recordings of the discussion and presentation materials. To join the conversation about the topics, visit our facebook page, by clicking here.

  • 11 March 2021, 14:00 – 16:30 CET: Angola – from economic boom to a post-petroleum economy
  • 25 March 2021, 14:00 – 16:30 CET: Angola – from dos Santos to Lourenço
  • 15 April 2021, 14:00 – 16:30 CET: Angola in a changing world
  • 29 April 2021,14:00 – 16:30 CET: Towards a more transparent society?
  • 6 May 2021 14:00 – 16:00 CET: Summing up: Is a real transformation of power relations underway in Angola?

This page will be updated with content from each webinar shortly after its completion.

The full proposed program with proposed speakers and text in Portugese can be downloaded below.

Webinar one: Angola – from economic boom to a post-petroleum economy

  • Date: Thursday 11 March
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:30 CET
  • Location: Zoom.
  • Moderator: Ricardo Soares de Oliveira, Oxford University

Session 1 – The oil economy in terminal crisis? Thinking transition to post-oil Angola

Presenters

  • Carlos Rosado de Carvalho, Expansão / UCAN
  • Benjamin Augé, IFRI / Sub-Sahara Center

Discussant

  • Rebecca Engebretsen, OECD (ex-Norwegian «Oil for Development» Programme)

Session 2 – The deepening social crisis (including as consequence of pandemic)

Presenters

  • Sergio Calundungo, Norwegian Church Aid
  • Carlos Pacatolo, Afrobarometer

Discussant

  • Aurea Mouzinho, Open Society

Webinar two: Angola from dos Santos to Lourenço

  • Date: Thursday 25 March
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:30 CET
  • Location: Zoom
  • Moderators:
    • Ricardo Soares de Oliveira
    • Cesaltina Abreu / Catarina Gomes, LAB

Session 1 – Is Angola departing from presidential absolutism?

Presenters

  • Jon Schubert, Brunel University, London
  • Filomeno Viera Lopes, UCAN

Discussant

  • Didier Peclard, Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva

Session 2 – Emergence of a more pluralist civil, academic and media society?

Presenters

  • Lucia de Silveira, AJPD
  • Susana Mendes (deputy head of Journalist Union)

Discussant

  • Justin Pearce, Sussex

Webinar three: Angola in a changing world

  • Date: Thursday 15 April
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:30 CET
  • Location: Zoom

Session 1 – Angola and the main global powers (China, Russia, US, EU)

Presenters

  • Mathias de Alencastro, CEBRAP / Brazil 

Mathias Alencastro is a postdoctoral fellow at the São Paulo Research Foundation (Fapesp). His work focuses on Brazil-Africa relations and the politics of private companies in the extractive sector. He served as a senior advisor at the Brazilian
presidency (2015-2016). He is currently working on a new plan for Brazil-Africa relations on behalf of a presidential candidate in the 2022 elections. He holds a PhD in Politics from the University of Oxford.

  • Dr. Assis Malaquias, California State University / Maritime Academy

Dr. Assis Malaquias is Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Global Studies and Maritime Affairs at the California State University (Maritime). He is also Associate at the Corbett Center for Maritime Policy Studies, King’s College, University of London. He has an extensive and distinguished career in academia and public service. Prior to joining Cal Maritime, he served as Overseas Maritime Security Advisor in the Africa Bureau, U.S. Department of State. He also served as the Academic Chair for Defense Economics at the U.S. National Defense University’s Africa Center for Strategic Studies. Professor Malaquias’ previous appointments include: Associate Dean of International and Intercultural Studies and Professor of Government at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York; Extraordinary Associate Professor of Political Studies at the University of Western Cape; and a visiting Professor at Stellenbosch University. He holds a B.A. (Honors) in Political Science from the University of Winnipeg, a Master’s degree in Economics and a Ph.D. in Political Science both from Dalhousie University. His areas of specialization include International Relations, Strategy, International Security, and Maritime Security.

Session 2 – Angola as a sub-regional power in Africa

Presenters

  • Paula Roque, Oxford University

Paula Cristina Roque has been an independent analyst on Angola for two decades. She has worked for the Crisis Management Initiative established by President Martti Ahtisaari; the South Sudan Centre for Strategic and Policy
Studies, Juba; the International Crisis Group, as senior analyst for Southern Africa; the Institute for Security Studies as Horn of Africa Senior Researcher; and China in Africa Research Coordinator at SAIIA. Roque has published extensively on Angola and frequently briefs the media, governments, and think tanks on her countries of expertise. She has a DPhil from the University of Oxford and a MSc from the London School of Economics. Her book Governing in the Shadows – Angola’s securitized state, published by Hurst, will be out in August 2021

Discussant

  • Claudia Gastrow, University of Johannesburg

Webinar four: Towards a more transparent society?

  • Date: Thursday 29 April
  • Time: 14:00 – 16:30 CET
  • Location: Zoom
  • Moderator: Ricardo Soares de Oliveira

Session 1: Luanda Leaks and beyond: How deep does the fight against the corruption culture really go?

Presenters:

  • Karina Carvalho, Executive Director of Transparency International Portugal
  • Luzia Sebastião, Former judge of the Constitutional Court

Session 2: Will political de-centralization ever take place in Angola?

Presenters:

  • Hitler Samussuku, Movimento Jovens pelas Autarquías (MJPA) 
  • Paulo Faria, Ambuila: Pesquisa e Produção Cientifica