58

This article argues that the concept of totality offers a strategic point of entry to analyzing the political arc of Mozambique’s ruling elite. It suggests that differences concerning how best to mobilize this concept so as to yield maximum insight and understanding have often formed the subtext of scholarly disputes about Frelimo’s ever-lengthening tenure. The present text brings these differences to the fore as part of a broader bid to identify frequently overlooked common positions and to clarify some of the main axes of historiographical debate.