THE HISTORY OF AN INDEPENDENT MOZAMBIQUE: comparative analysis of the knowledge production of the CEA and CEEI

Abstract

The article analyzes the knowledge production of the Center for African Studies at Eduardo Mondlane University (CEA-UEM) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies at the Higher Institute of International Relations of Mozambique (CEEI-ISRI). The sociology of knowledge and the comparative method were mobilized based on the following variables: political influence, academic freedom, and ideology. The CEA and the CEEI were two important schools of thought for understanding the history of Mozambique and its regional insertion. With prestigious national and international researchers, they produced empirical studies, rigorous analyses and reports capable of assisting the State in governance and conducting domestic and foreign policy. Both Centers were permeated by political influence and interference in their academic freedom, but with divergent perspectives. They disagreed about the development model adopted by the State, the origins of the conflict with South Africa and the causes of the Mozambican civil war. Their ideologies revealed government influences and domestic, regional and international circumstances, influencing and allowing themselves to be influenced by the current political power.