Mozambique: Country Profile

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1. I would like to acknowledge the author for their effort in drawing this profile of Mozambique.

2. While the work does provide some interesting reading about Mozambique, I wonder if it presents anything new from what can be read in Wikipedia about Mozambique. I have made some comments in several instances in the text.

3. A serious weakness of the manuscript is that it is written from a general view and lacks a specific perspective.   

4, Although it does spell out the educational and medical interventions undertaken by the government, it does not provide a meaningful picture of the economic efforts undertaken by the government. Is the 1989 Program for Social and Economic Rehabilitation the only program undertaken by Frelimo? What was the impact on the economy of the shifts from Samora Machel right up to the present regime of Fillipe Nyusi?   For instance, spelling out the shift from the Communist-Socialist economy to the liberal market will add great value to the work.

4. Mozambique's membership in the Lusophone countries and Commonwealth countries must be unpacked. What are the benefits of this? What made Mozambique join the Commonwealth countries?  What is the role/influence of Mozambique in the SADC and AU communities?

5. The nature and state of corruption is also not sufficiently spelt out. What drives  corruption? How have successive governments dealt with it?

6. The religious scenario needs to be improved to reflect the better picture of the present.

7. Other aspects that should be pointed out are the state of arts, music, and sports in Mozambique. The author only mentions participation in the Commonwealth games and does not give a picture of the countries' eminent sportspeople, such as Maria Mutola

8. I think it may help the author to write the work from a particular perspective instead of a general perspective. There are several perspectives such as perhaps a decolonial perspective of Mozambique.   

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear reviewer,
Thank you very much for your contribution. I will systematically reply to the comments.
1. Thank you very much. It was challenging to assemble all this information, all from recent sources.
2. Unlike Wikipedia, this is a scholarly manuscript under peer review, and I expect the best input from the specialists. Furthermore, among the aims of the Encyclopedia, it says, "Entries should be reliable, objective, and established knowledge rather than original research work or unproven hypotheses."
3. The Encyclopedia is meant to provide accurate and unbiased information, and the dominant perspective is what the scholarly literature has to offer on the matter. In conclusion, I shared my balanced point of view.
4. I did not consider Frelimo alone because the country now is multiparty democratic. Regarding the impact of PRES, I mentioned "modernization of the economy and the mode of production, mass privatization" and the criticism by Sambo and Guambe. I also said the decreasing disparity. After PRES, the Plan of Activities to Reduce Poverty was aligned with MDGs and later SDGs. Besides explaining various sectors, I dedicated section 5 to describe the current situation, particularly the recent calamities.
4'. I included a section on international relations and diplomacy.
5. I explained the hidden debt, the most impactful corruption scandal in Mozambique. I will undoubtedly deepen the topic in future opportunities because it is highly relevant.
6. The information about religion is what scholarly sources provide, evidence-ba, and that is the best information available unless proven otherwise by equally reliable sources.
7. To profile a country, it is important to stress its distinctive characteristics as a country, i.e., what stands out internationally. I want to write about all sectors, but I must focus on developmental priorities. I provided some information on culture, and I think that was the most relevant. As much as I praise celebrities, including the retired (or deceased), this is a peer-reviewed scientific paper based on the information dominant in homologous literature, written out on the research needs of the Mozambican scientific community. I could nitpick Lurdes Mutola (what we call her), Malangatana, and "the usual suspects," but just because they stood out in their respective fields, it does not mean Mozambique as a whole stands out.

8. I am contributing to an Encyclopedia by providing reliable, unbiased information so that people can objectively use it in the future.

Once again, thank you very much. Your input significantly contributed to the improvement of this work.

Yours sincerely,

Edgar M Cambaza

Reviewer 2 Report

Clear well-structured text, covering the essential points for understanding the country in question.

The approach to the themes for the presentation of the country is presented in a monographic way, suitable for an encyclopedia entry.

The presentation of Mozambique draws attention to the ecological, social and political problems of the African countries with a recent history of independence. The bibliographic support is extensive and current, as well as the data, which are well selected for the portrait of the country.

The writing is clear and easy to read.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you very much. It is good to know that the current manuscript is an asset to the Encyclopedia.

Yours sincerely

Reviewer 3 Report

To begin with, I think that the entry “Mozambique: Country Profile” is a very important piece of writing. One of the main contributions of the entry lies in the fact that it broadens our understanding and knowledge about a relatively unknown African country and highlight important aspects of its existence, such as its history, social composition, economics, and others.

Alongside the important contribution this entry makes to the bookshelf of Mozambique, some criticism is in place. As I read this entry as an historian, I feel that it lacks a more solid historical background on the precolonial, colonial, and post-colonial history of that country. The readers should be able to get a detailed answers to questions such as: Which kind of political entities and social structures prevailed in precolonial Mozambique? What were the main characteristics of the Portuguese colonial rule there (for example why it continued until the mid-1970, long after other colonial powers left their African colonies), what where the deep-rooted causes of the continued civil war in post-independence Mozambique and its devastating effects? I believe that this kind of background would benefit the readers, especially those who are not very knowledgeable readers of the history of that country.

Some more specific comments are in place:

1.     134-142: the discussion on the oral history should be part of the section of history, as it is an important part of our understanding on the contribution of unwritten sources to the history of Mozambique.

2.     170-174: the paragraph on the foreign media should be in another place, as it interrupts the general discussion of this section.

3.     194-201: a more thorough discussion should be added on the discussion of traditional religions, and I think that the term “local cults” should be replaced by it.

4.     213-224: a broader discussion should be added to the discussion of SADC and the importance and relevance of the regional perspective and the ways it influences political, economic, and other aspects of that country.

5.     In general, detailed data should be added to the issue of urbanization (for example in lines 238-9).

6.     As for the demographic aspect, maybe a discussion on family-planning education should be added?

7.     For the section on the “perfect storm”- perhaps a more detailed bibliography should be added regarding the experiences of climate change in communities in Mozambique? (For example: Warren M. (2019). Why Cyclone Idai is one of the southern Hemisphere’s most devastating storms. Nature News).

In summary, the proposed entry is an important contribution to scholarly writing about Mozambique. It does, however, require a more solid historical background that would situate it in the broader developments of this country, alongside some more revisions, that make it more accessible and understandable to a broader audience of readers on this topic.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,
Thank you for your contribution. I did my best to respond to your comments. Please find my answers below.

Q: In general, detailed data should be added to the issue of urbanization (for example, in lines 238-9).
A: Thank you. We updated the information
Q: 213-224: a broader discussion should be added to the discussion of SADC, the importance and relevance of the regional perspective, and the ways it influences political, economic, and other aspects of that country.
A: Thank you. We included a section on international relations.
Q: 194-201: a more thorough discussion should be added to the debate on traditional religions, and I think that the term "local cults" should be replaced by it.
A: I will not use the "local cults" term, but "traditional religions" is also not the best terminology because (1) all religions are traditional and (2) not all spiritual systems or practices are organized as religions, not only in African countries. I will replace "cults" with "belief systems and spiritual practices" since the such expression is broader. I want to enrich the discussion further, but there is little scholarly information on the topic. Although I know some beliefs, as I am Mozambican, the issue is under-researched, partly because people are afraid to approach traditional healers.
Q: 170-174: the paragraph on foreign media should be in another place, as it interrupts the general discussion of this section.
A: I think the best idea was removing it, and it broke the flow of ideas.
Q: As for the demographic aspect, a discussion on family-planning education should be added.
A: I included some information on family planning. The situation seems optimistic.
Q: For the section on the "perfect storm,"- perhaps a more detailed bibliography should be added regarding the experiences of climate change in communities in Mozambique. (For example, Warren M. (2019). Why Cyclone Idai is one of the southern Hemisphere's most devastating storms. Nature News).
A: Climate change is an exciting topic to discuss, and I would gladly. I authored among the earliest peer-reviewed accounts on cyclone Idai and Kenneth, and I admit that climate change might be involved. Warren's article presents just an opinion, even though the platform is highly prestigious, but until there is more compelling evidence, I do not feel qualified to speculate on it.
Q: Which political entities and social structures prevailed in precolonial Mozambique?
A: I wrote a paragraph on the administrative structure
Q: What were the main characteristics of the Portuguese colonial rule there (for example, why it continued until the mid-1970, long after other colonial powers left their African colonies)? What deep-rooted causes of the continued civil war in post-independence Mozambique and its devastating effects?
A: I provided some explanation.
Q: The proposed entry is essential to scholarly writing about Mozambique. It does, however, require a more solid historical background that would situate it in the broader developments of this country, alongside some more revisions that make it more accessible and understandable to a broader audience of readers on this topic.
A: Thank you. I am not a historian, so it was a pleasure to have someone with such expertise among the reviewers.

Yours sincerely,

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The author has made acceptable changes, I recommend the manuscript be published.

Reviewer 3 Report

I accept all the author's revisions and believe that it is now ready for submission