Portuguese-speaking Small Island Developing States

“The authors’ approach is innovative as it establishes a direct comparison between the post-independence developments of Cabo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe and Timor-Leste. As the book is written from a small island developing states perspective, it undoubtedly contributes important lessons and information to the existing literature on this special category of developing states.” -Gerhard Seibert, PósAfro, Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Salvador, Brazil. “This book provides new perspectives on three of the smallest Lusophone states. It fills a gap in academic knowledge about SIDS and further offers innovative insights into the specificity of being a Portuguese-speaking small island state. The combination of an economic, political and social approach in a diachronic perspective, allows the reader to have a complete understanding of the contemporary history of these countries. Each chapter offers a number of selected questions, which are designed to encourage academic debate, and to support researchers and students.” -Cátia Miriam Costa, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (ISCTE), Lisbon, Portugal. This book assesses the dynamics, challenges and achievements of the development processes of three Portuguese-speaking Small Island Developing States (PSSIDS) - Cabo Verde, São Tome and Príncipe, and Timor-Leste. Important lessons are drawn from those processes, which are relevant for policymakers, as well as for their bilateral and multilateral development partners, including international organizations such as United Nations or the Community of Portuguese Language Countries. To that end, the book includes contributions to the academic literature about SIDS, an area of research that has been significantly overlooked. The conclusions would be of interest to readers as a lead up to the fiftieth anniversary of their independence. Francisco José B.S. Leandro is AssociateProfessor with Habilitation at Faculty of Social Sciences - University of Macau, China. Enrique Martínez-Galán is an integrated researcher at the Centre for African and Development Studies - ISEG-Lisbon School of Economics and Management of the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Paulo Gonçalves is an independent researcher and a retired senior officer of the Portuguese Air Force, Portugal.