Angola: Net Assessment

Following a protracted civil war that lasted from its 1975 independence until 2002, Angola is only now emerging as a player on the regional stage in sub-Saharan Africa. Flush with oil wealth and with its internal power recently consolidated, Luanda is now pursuing two key geopolitical imperatives: solidifying its control over the country to shut out the re-emergence of internal challengers, and pushing to rival South Africa and Nigeria as a regional hegemon.