Exploring the origins, nature and consequences of the Mozambican National Resistance (MNR, or Renamo) violence and murder, this article argues that Renamo does not conform to the classical characteristics of warlordism. It does not represent a cession of central control to local interests; rather it is an attack on the national sovereignty of Mozambique created and perpetuated by external powers: the South African security forces and the extreme right in the USA and, to some extent, in Portugal and West Germany. Nevertheless, in some areas the externally imposed proxy war may have been able to achieve a certain local dynamic and so, to this extent, the warlord concept may have some limited usefulness. The author also completely rejects both the idea that the MNR can be considered to be a case of ‘social banditry’, even allowing for the weaknesses inherent in this concept, as well as the idea that opposition to villagization is a generalized motive for recruitment to the MNR. Ref.
