Mozambique's post-conflict trajectory was hailed by the international community as one of the few 'success stories' in Africa. The country's transition was perceived to validate the dominant peacebuilding model and was frequently cited as a show-case in donor reports and in Western media. Praise, optimism and tolerance of deviations characterised donors' discourse on Mozambique for over two decades. The last few years, however, have seen Mozambique struggling to keep a good standing with Western or Western-led actors. Its recent military instability combined with significantly low scores in what concerns the international community's most celebrated measurements of human development, human poverty or even GDP per capita points to a parallel reality which was downplayed or ignored, and is currently becoming prominent, leading to the questioning of the dominant narrative. This article explores why and how the prevailing representation of Mozambique as a peacebuilding 'success' was created and reinforced, and is now being re-examined, reflecting on overall assumptions on international peacebuilding theory and practice.
