Beyond Abyssal Thinking: The Deep Decolonization of the Studies on War and Violence in Contemporary Mozambique

Abstract

Based upon a critical reading of the civil war that left a profound mark in Mozambique (1976-1992), this article intends to contribute to present-day debates over the importance of peace studies in state building, addressing the cultural resistances that frequently go undetected. At the same time, this article —rooted in the political and epistemological proposal of Boaventura de Sousa Santos’ abyssal thinking (2018)— aims to theorize the political events that permeate this conflict, transcending the (pre)dominant interpretations of the global North. In this sense, this study —from a concise analysis of the geopolitical complexity of the civil war— addresses inherent resistance, prioritizes local voices and explanations, and thus expands the analysis of the root causes of the conflict. Additionally, and stemming out of the epistemologies of the South, it aims to expose situations of cognitive injustice in “international” readings of this war, while —from a contextual reading of wars within the Mozambican civil war— it presents clues for a methodological approach that paves the way for a deep decolonization of security and peace studies.