This book presents a comprehensive examination of the alliance of southern African states known as the Frontline States (FLS) that was formed in 1975 to meet the challenges occasioned by the persistence of minority-ruled regimes in the region. After its engagement in the search for a negotiated settlement to the decolonization of Zimbabwe, the FLS_Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia_expanded its range of activities to confront threats emanating from South Africa's political, economic, and military domination. Anchored in theories of alliance formation among weak states, the book chronicles how the alliance skillfully coordinated regional and extra-regional efforts to contribute to changing the political and security landscape in southern Africa. The book takes the story of the alliance to the eve of South Africa's transformation from a post-apartheid state in the mid-1990s and efforts to build a new security and economic architecture under the rubric of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Gilbert M. Khadiagala was recently appointed to the Chair of Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Head of Department of International Relations at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. He previously taught at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University in Washington, D.C.; Kent State University, Kent, Ohio; and the University of Nairobi.