A BABY WHO DOES NOT CRY WILL NOT BE SUCKLED - AMODEG AND THE REINTEGRATION OF DEMOBILIZED SOLDIERS

This article investigates the politics of the Mozambican demobilised s oldiers' association (the Associacao Mocambicana dos Desmobilizados da Guerra, AMODEG). On the basis of interviews and press reports, I expl ore AMODEG's appeals and strategy, as well as the association's relati onship with the government, donors and its own members. I argue that A MODEG has a considerable degree of independence front the state, deriv ed from its ability to appeal to the international community for finan cial resources, and from its capacity to mobilise its members and rais e fears of instability and violence. AMODEG has made some positive con tributions to the reintegration of ex-soldiers by channelling their de mands politically and providing art alternative to banditry and crime. However, AMODEG's dependence on donor and state funding has undermine d its capacity to represent the interests of its members. I thus follo w other scholars in questioning the potential for civil society - in t he form of associations such as AMODEG - to constrain state power and promote democratic reforms in Mozambique.