‘Makers of Bonds and Ties’: Transnational Socialisation and National Liberation in Mozambique

This article provides an interpretation of the formation of the leadership of Frelimo through an analysis of its socialisation in transnational networks. It covers the period from the late 1940s to the early 1970s and tries to evaluate the ways in which and the extent to which such a transnational socialisation affected the national liberation struggle. The primary objective is to investigate the specific relation between domestic forms of resistance and informal transnational ties. This is done through the lens of secondary literature, biographical material and interviews with protagonists of the liberation movement in Mozambique. By drawing upon Pierre Bourdieu’s ideas of cultural and social capital, I demonstrate how leading figures integrated themselves into an international community of anti-colonial activists, how these networks shaped the identities and strategies of the national movement, how this enabled them to mobilise resources, and how it helped to create a collective identity that produced internal legitimacy as well as contestation.