Historical and institutional foundations of social protection of the Angolan Armed Forces for officer training

Abstract

This research article analyzes the historical and institutional foundations of the Angolan Armed Forces' (FAA) Social Protection System and its relevance to the training curriculum of student officers. The main objective is to reconstruct the genesis of this system, identify its sociopolitical determinants, and assess its inclusion as pedagogical content in military professional training. The methodology employed is qualitative, based on historical-legal documentary analysis and a systematic review of primary (national legislation) and secondary (specialized academic production) sources. The main findings reveal that Angolan military social protection does not correspond to a classic model of an industrial welfare state, but rather to a process of institutionalizing rights derived from the vulnerabilities produced by the war of liberation and the civil war, which conditions its structure, coverage, and sustainability. The study concludes that a critical understanding of these foundations is essential for the comprehensive training of officers, as it allows them to internalize the logic of the postcolonial state, the scope of social citizenship, and the challenges of institutional management. There is a clear need for further empirical studies that compare regulations with the actual experiences of beneficiaries.