Vol. 17 N.º 1, TD4 (2026): From Colonial Rule to Nationhood: Amílcar Cabral and the Birth of Lusophone Africa

Why a special edition on Amilcar Cabral?

The year 2025 marked five decades since the formal independence of the Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa. While each liberation movement reflected the unique historical, political, and cultural context of its nation, they shared common ideological foundations, aspirations, and strategic approaches. Central to this shared trajectory was Amílcar Cabral (1924–1973) - a visionary leader whose rare ability to combine theory and practice, and to integrate insights from engineering, politics, economics, diplomacy, and literature, played a pivotal role in uniting liberation movements and articulating a vision for a more equitable international order. His commitment to self-determination, cultural emancipation, social justice, and people-centred development not only shaped the struggles for independence in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde but also influenced broader anti-colonial movements across Africa and the Global South.

Amílcar Cabral deserves a special edition of E-JANUS: Journal of International Relations because his intellectual, political, and diplomatic legacy continues to inform some of the most important debates in international relations, development studies, African studies, leadership studies, and post-colonial scholarship. More than five decades after his assassination in 1973, Cabral remains a uniquely interdisciplinary figure whose ideas transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. His reflections on sovereignty, cultural identity, national liberation, and international solidarity remain highly relevant for contemporary leaders of the Global South seeking to navigate persistent challenges of dependency, inequality, external intervention, and geopolitical competition. At a time when emerging powers are striving to increase their agency within an evolving international system, Cabral’s emphasis on strategic autonomy, ethical leadership, human dignity, and South–South cooperation continues to offer valuable insights for policymakers, diplomats, and scholars alike. His enduring relevance lies not only in his role as an architect of decolonization but also as a thinker whose ideas speak directly to contemporary efforts to build more inclusive, equitable, and representative forms of global governance.