Volume 9, Number 1

History as a Determinant of Malawi-Mozambique Relations: The Case of the Nsanje International Inland Port

  Authors

Mwayiwao Magombo, Pan African University, Cameroon

  Abstract

Using the Nsanje international inland port saga as a case study, this paper employs the realism theory to examine the historically difficult relationship between Malawi and Mozambique. Based on data gathered from interviews and previously published studies, the study's final conclusionis that Malawi’s bilateral relations with Mozambique are the product and continue to be shaped by history. Because the relationship between the two states is historically based on the provision of services especially port facilities, the Nsanje inland port is at loggerheads with Mozambique’s national economic interests as it seeks to put an end to the historically rooted modus operandi of the relationship. The study recommends mandatoryfeasibility studies before starting projects, placing the port project on hold, continuing with the current foreign policy which to a great extent appeases Mozambique and finding some use for the port structures which currently constitute a white elephant.

  Keywords

History,national interest, Nsanje inland port, Malawi-Mozambique relations, river navigation.