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Columbia Global Reports
Another Fine Mess: America, Uganda, and the War on Terror
Is the West to blame for the agony of Uganda and its neighbors?
In this powerful account of Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni's 30 year reign, Helen Epstein chronicles how Western leaders' single-minded focus on the War on Terror and their naive dealings with strongmen are at the root of much of the turmoil in eastern and central Africa.
Museveni's involvement in the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, and Somalia has earned him substantial amounts of military and development assistance, as well as near-total impunity. It has also short-circuited the power the people of this region might otherwise have over their destiny. Epstein set out for Uganda more than 20 years ago to work as a public health consultant on an AIDS project. Since then, the roughly $20 billion worth of foreign aid poured into the country by donors has done little to improve the well-being of the Ugandan people, whose rates of illiteracy, mortality, and poverty surpass those of many neighboring countries. Money meant to pay for health care, education, and other public services has instead been used by Museveni to shore up his power through patronage, brutality, and terror. Another Fine Mess is a devastating indictment of the West's Africa policy and an authoritative history of the crises that have ravaged Uganda and its neighbors since the end of the Cold War.
In this powerful account of Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni's 30 year reign, Helen Epstein chronicles how Western leaders' single-minded focus on the War on Terror and their naive dealings with strongmen are at the root of much of the turmoil in eastern and central Africa.
Museveni's involvement in the conflicts in Sudan, South Sudan, Rwanda, Congo, and Somalia has earned him substantial amounts of military and development assistance, as well as near-total impunity. It has also short-circuited the power the people of this region might otherwise have over their destiny. Epstein set out for Uganda more than 20 years ago to work as a public health consultant on an AIDS project. Since then, the roughly $20 billion worth of foreign aid poured into the country by donors has done little to improve the well-being of the Ugandan people, whose rates of illiteracy, mortality, and poverty surpass those of many neighboring countries. Money meant to pay for health care, education, and other public services has instead been used by Museveni to shore up his power through patronage, brutality, and terror. Another Fine Mess is a devastating indictment of the West's Africa policy and an authoritative history of the crises that have ravaged Uganda and its neighbors since the end of the Cold War.
262 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2017
16 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Helen C. Epstein
3 books9 followersHelen C. Epstein is Visiting Professor of Global Public Health and Human Rights at Bard College. She has worked for more than 20 years as a public health consultant in Uganda and other countries for such organizations as the World Bank, UNICEF and Human Rights Watch. Her book The Invisible Cure: Why We Are Losing the Fight against AIDS in Africa was a New York Times Notable Book and Amazon’s best science book of 2007. Her articles have appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times Magazine and other publications.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 14, 2020
I have never felt truly scared to read a book about a country while in that country before, but I found myself first covering the pages as I was reading with my forearms on transport and in restaurants, and finally just hiding it in my hotel room locked with my passport and money. Epstein follows the money, and the violence, of contemporary Ugandan politics, pulling back the shiny veneer of fairly functional bureaucracy that sweetly caters to tourists and foreign journalists, missionaries, NGO workers, and politicians and that that has successfully secured decades of opaque and open-ended military and development funds. This stuff is available if you search-- Ugandan newspapers and blogs like African Arguments and activists like Bobi Wine and Stella Nyanzi are all documenting and agitating-- but the Ugandan government is a powerhouse of secret, targeted political violence and soothing propaganda, so Epstein's collection of it in one place is a useful tool. This is a great work to complement any study of the Great War in DRC, getting beyond Rwanda: Epstein explodes Uganda's role and the layered, eyebrow-raising use of the country as a US proxy, which smoothly manipulated the situation for use of the US as a Ugandan proxy.
The book gets a little too deep into details at times, and has the journalistic light narrative that (to me) can get in the way of a thesis, but overall Epstien documents a history that is being actively, expertly, viciously erased. Well done.
The book gets a little too deep into details at times, and has the journalistic light narrative that (to me) can get in the way of a thesis, but overall Epstien documents a history that is being actively, expertly, viciously erased. Well done.
March 6, 2018
An outstanding analysis of the current and recent political situation in Uganda, and also, in East Africa as a whole, and how the US's misguided foreign policy has contributed to the continued reign of yet another corrupt African dictator.
August 4, 2018
I picked this book up based solely on the author. I really liked Epstein’s book about HIV/AIDS – The Invisible Cure – and so saw this new one by her and immediately picked it up. And I’m so glad I did.
I’ll admit that my review is probably decently biased, because this book was about a topic that is one I hold close and rail about on the regular, and the author’s views are very close to mine. So, that will inherently introduce some bias and raise my rating. Have to be honest.
Either way though, this book was so well written and provides a scathing indictment of the Museveni regime and the west’s (especially the United States’) support of that regime through every horrible period of Uganda’s history and their intervention in regional countries since 1986. If you wanted to know all of the dirty details of Museveni’s rise to power, support of regional rebel movements, and oppression of his own people – it’s all right here. And written in a way that keeps you turning the pages and keeps you engaged. What could become a dry expose of all the bad stuff is made gripping and, if I’m honest, rage inducing.
The United States has a long history of supporting dictators when they support us (hello, Cold War politics), and Epstein’s point is that if we think all that nonsense ended with the Cold War we are sorely mistaken. All that happened is that the US’s loyalty and assistance transferred to a new generation of dictators, and the fight changed from that against communism to that against terrorism. And the US has very deliberately engaged in a policy that keeps Museveni in power because of his willingness to grow his army and send it after the perceived or real enemies of the United States. And, well, then turning a blind eye to the use of that army to interfere in other things regionally or oppress the Ugandan people just becomes a necessity to pursue policy goals.
What’s great about this book, too, is that it does get into the regional politics of the decades since Museveni took power, because politics don’t happen in a vacuum. It demonstrates that all of the major events, and wars, of central Africa have involved an incestuous mix of all the regional governments, rebel groups, and political movements over the past three decades. I think it’s important that all of that was discussed, because it truly shows the regional implications for supporting dictators and what military support and foreign aid can really do. Like I said, none of this stuff happens in a vacuum and it doesn’t stay confined within one nation’s borders.
This is a case study, and only discusses Uganda (and how it interacts with its region), but any semi-well informed reader will see how this pattern can be seen across Africa and the Middle East, and beyond, to how the US engages with so-called partners, and its willingness to support dictators all in the pursuit of terrorists – where ‘stability’ (meaning no change in political leadership to, perhaps, presidents less willing to carry out the west’s bidding) means more than human rights, democratic ideals, and personal freedoms.
I’ll admit that my review is probably decently biased, because this book was about a topic that is one I hold close and rail about on the regular, and the author’s views are very close to mine. So, that will inherently introduce some bias and raise my rating. Have to be honest.
Either way though, this book was so well written and provides a scathing indictment of the Museveni regime and the west’s (especially the United States’) support of that regime through every horrible period of Uganda’s history and their intervention in regional countries since 1986. If you wanted to know all of the dirty details of Museveni’s rise to power, support of regional rebel movements, and oppression of his own people – it’s all right here. And written in a way that keeps you turning the pages and keeps you engaged. What could become a dry expose of all the bad stuff is made gripping and, if I’m honest, rage inducing.
The United States has a long history of supporting dictators when they support us (hello, Cold War politics), and Epstein’s point is that if we think all that nonsense ended with the Cold War we are sorely mistaken. All that happened is that the US’s loyalty and assistance transferred to a new generation of dictators, and the fight changed from that against communism to that against terrorism. And the US has very deliberately engaged in a policy that keeps Museveni in power because of his willingness to grow his army and send it after the perceived or real enemies of the United States. And, well, then turning a blind eye to the use of that army to interfere in other things regionally or oppress the Ugandan people just becomes a necessity to pursue policy goals.
What’s great about this book, too, is that it does get into the regional politics of the decades since Museveni took power, because politics don’t happen in a vacuum. It demonstrates that all of the major events, and wars, of central Africa have involved an incestuous mix of all the regional governments, rebel groups, and political movements over the past three decades. I think it’s important that all of that was discussed, because it truly shows the regional implications for supporting dictators and what military support and foreign aid can really do. Like I said, none of this stuff happens in a vacuum and it doesn’t stay confined within one nation’s borders.
This is a case study, and only discusses Uganda (and how it interacts with its region), but any semi-well informed reader will see how this pattern can be seen across Africa and the Middle East, and beyond, to how the US engages with so-called partners, and its willingness to support dictators all in the pursuit of terrorists – where ‘stability’ (meaning no change in political leadership to, perhaps, presidents less willing to carry out the west’s bidding) means more than human rights, democratic ideals, and personal freedoms.
May 1, 2019
There are few books that I read wanting so much more, but this is one. Normally, this is a good thing. It means the book has been compelling and I couldn't put it down until I had to. Another Fine Mess felt like I had been told parts of a story, but not the whole story. Some of this may be just the lack of sources that Epstein has been able to work with for documenting older events that no officials really wanted to acknowledge anyway. The later chapters were more compelling to read and also felt more, whole. The wider availability of sources and recent information probably made them feel more complete. However, some of the earlier links developed just felt a bit too based on spurious evidence or speculation, at least where it comes to some of the foreign involvement.
...and that's really my main problem with the book. America is mentioned before Uganda in the title, but the book is about Uganda. The book is about how destructive Museveni has been for Uganda. The book is somewhat about how western powers have enabled Museveni and failed to question him, but it REALLY is about Museveni's Uganda. I feel like the book has a compelling narrative, but it tries to force one about foreign intervention that is not as wholly developed. And that's where Goodreads ratings are a problem. If the book is titled Another Fine Mess: Museveni, Uganda, and his Western Backers, it's easily a four or five star book. But the current title doesn't match the current book and I kept reading it waiting for the moment where the contents matched the title and the cover.
...and that's really my main problem with the book. America is mentioned before Uganda in the title, but the book is about Uganda. The book is about how destructive Museveni has been for Uganda. The book is somewhat about how western powers have enabled Museveni and failed to question him, but it REALLY is about Museveni's Uganda. I feel like the book has a compelling narrative, but it tries to force one about foreign intervention that is not as wholly developed. And that's where Goodreads ratings are a problem. If the book is titled Another Fine Mess: Museveni, Uganda, and his Western Backers, it's easily a four or five star book. But the current title doesn't match the current book and I kept reading it waiting for the moment where the contents matched the title and the cover.
July 24, 2017
Perhaps a slightly weird choice for my holiday reading, but a really captivating and absorbing one. I have a deeply held fascination with African history and politics, and Another Fine Mess is an extraodinary exploration of both. The combination of the seemingly unbelievable events and Epstein's vibrant and propulsive style makes this an excellent read.
Prior to reading this, my knowlegde of Uganda was limited to recent LGBT oppression, Idi Amin and Joseph Kony's horrific actions in recruiting child soldiers. Thanks to Epstein, I can now also be outraged and horrified by Yoweri Museveni, Ugandan President since the 1980s and a leader of such low morals and high corruption that it's supremely awful every time you remember he's a real person and not an overblown fictional character.
Epstein's main focus here is the enabling and supportive actions of the US, whose questionable approaches of providing aid without checking where it ended up while doing nothing to ensure the democratic process is followed have allowed Museveni, a leader widely believed to have had rivals murdered and rigged elections, to systematically deprive his citizens while lining his own pockets. It makes for genuinely shocking reading. Additionally, Epstein shows how much of the chaos of modern African history has been influenced by the US, either through action or inaction, firstly as a means of scoring points against the USSR during the Cold War and, more recently, in an effort to stifle radical Islamism in Sudan and beyond. It's mindblowing. Epstein's broadening focus also means other nations' troubled recent histories are discussed, giving the reader a better grasp of Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda and the DRC too. While the fact that any of these awful things is possible makes no ethical sense to me, Another Fine Mess helped me to get my head round some issues which had previously confused me, like the terrible Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the chaotic wars fought in Zaire/DRC.
In conclusion, a niche book, I suppose, but a fascinating, eye-opening and comprehensive one. Epstein brilliantly guides the reader through some incredibly complex political machinations, always bringing it back to the effects on 'real' people. I was enthralled by this book and I highly recommend it to readers with an interest in the history, present and future of the East African region.
Prior to reading this, my knowlegde of Uganda was limited to recent LGBT oppression, Idi Amin and Joseph Kony's horrific actions in recruiting child soldiers. Thanks to Epstein, I can now also be outraged and horrified by Yoweri Museveni, Ugandan President since the 1980s and a leader of such low morals and high corruption that it's supremely awful every time you remember he's a real person and not an overblown fictional character.
Epstein's main focus here is the enabling and supportive actions of the US, whose questionable approaches of providing aid without checking where it ended up while doing nothing to ensure the democratic process is followed have allowed Museveni, a leader widely believed to have had rivals murdered and rigged elections, to systematically deprive his citizens while lining his own pockets. It makes for genuinely shocking reading. Additionally, Epstein shows how much of the chaos of modern African history has been influenced by the US, either through action or inaction, firstly as a means of scoring points against the USSR during the Cold War and, more recently, in an effort to stifle radical Islamism in Sudan and beyond. It's mindblowing. Epstein's broadening focus also means other nations' troubled recent histories are discussed, giving the reader a better grasp of Somalia, Sudan, Rwanda and the DRC too. While the fact that any of these awful things is possible makes no ethical sense to me, Another Fine Mess helped me to get my head round some issues which had previously confused me, like the terrible Rwandan genocide of 1994 and the chaotic wars fought in Zaire/DRC.
In conclusion, a niche book, I suppose, but a fascinating, eye-opening and comprehensive one. Epstein brilliantly guides the reader through some incredibly complex political machinations, always bringing it back to the effects on 'real' people. I was enthralled by this book and I highly recommend it to readers with an interest in the history, present and future of the East African region.
November 18, 2025
Historical Book
I chose this song because am witness to almost l what w written here. Absolute truth. I liked the writer's unwavering approach. Very rare in Ugandan contemporary writers on the current government. I recommend it to political science teachers in Uganda.
I chose this song because am witness to almost l what w written here. Absolute truth. I liked the writer's unwavering approach. Very rare in Ugandan contemporary writers on the current government. I recommend it to political science teachers in Uganda.
May 15, 2021
100% recommend reading this book if you are involved in development work, missions, international affairs, politics, etc. Well-research, captivating, and jaw-dropping.
December 22, 2017
I am not an expert on Africa - I visited Uganda several times for work about ten years ago and I read a bit but I don't have much confidence in my understanding of the complexities of the varying situations in different parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
While I am not sure about the choice of title, that recalls a catch phrase from Laurel & Hardy, I felt I was able to learn from this book and at the same time was engaged when reading it.
The author has clearly drawn from personal knowledge and experience in the region as well as secondary sources. I felt confident that she was presenting information based on reasonable sources.
Uganda appears in the title, but the scope is greater than just that country since the present leader Museveni is involved in the affairs of his neighbors, in particular Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan as well as Somalia. There is much to be learned and understand about the interplay between these countries in the post-colonial period.
U.S. official policy towards Uganda does not come out looking sensible as described in this book. The (Bill) Clinton administration in particular is not shown to have acted with much care in encouraging diversity of political views in Uganda in particular, rather providing Museveni with the military and other means to strengthen his hold on power. Museveni destabilized other countries in the name of fighting terror to justify that outside support, as well as developing ways to receive income from these activities. The only positive (perhaps) is that the U.S. was not alone in supporting Museveni in this way.
Again, the book is readable and engaging, assuming you aren't completely depressed thinking about the significance of what is said. There is some good information about other books to read at the end and the book has endnotes for the sources of information used.
I didn't choose five stars because I found some of the presentation of information confusing - mostly the book proceeds chronologically but not always. Anyway, I am not sure this isn't a little be more about me as a reader than about the book. I highly recommend it.
While I am not sure about the choice of title, that recalls a catch phrase from Laurel & Hardy, I felt I was able to learn from this book and at the same time was engaged when reading it.
The author has clearly drawn from personal knowledge and experience in the region as well as secondary sources. I felt confident that she was presenting information based on reasonable sources.
Uganda appears in the title, but the scope is greater than just that country since the present leader Museveni is involved in the affairs of his neighbors, in particular Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and South Sudan as well as Somalia. There is much to be learned and understand about the interplay between these countries in the post-colonial period.
U.S. official policy towards Uganda does not come out looking sensible as described in this book. The (Bill) Clinton administration in particular is not shown to have acted with much care in encouraging diversity of political views in Uganda in particular, rather providing Museveni with the military and other means to strengthen his hold on power. Museveni destabilized other countries in the name of fighting terror to justify that outside support, as well as developing ways to receive income from these activities. The only positive (perhaps) is that the U.S. was not alone in supporting Museveni in this way.
Again, the book is readable and engaging, assuming you aren't completely depressed thinking about the significance of what is said. There is some good information about other books to read at the end and the book has endnotes for the sources of information used.
I didn't choose five stars because I found some of the presentation of information confusing - mostly the book proceeds chronologically but not always. Anyway, I am not sure this isn't a little be more about me as a reader than about the book. I highly recommend it.
September 30, 2024
Epstein spends very little time blaming the Hutu led government for its undeniable role in promoting the genocide in Rwanda in 1994, and then its direct involvement during the genocide. She shifts the blame to other players who she argues fostered the hatred amongst the majority Hutu population against the minority Tutsi. To some extent it's an exercise in victim blaming and an apology for the perpetrators of the genocide. She argues that it was different and even wrong to compare this genocide to the Jewish Holocaust as the Jews did not have an organized militia such as the Tutsi led RPF to come to their rescue albeit after most of the killing had taken place. Thank heavens the RPF was ready to step in to stop more killing or the Hutu led government and their militia proxies would have totally exterminated the Tutsi population. Epstein's book would be music to the ears of all the key players, the French, the US who failed to prevent the genocide. It would also be viewed as an apology by the remaining Hutu genocidaires. Epstein's motives should seriously be questioned. It is so wrong to consider some victims of genocide as more important than others and even worse to imply some victims of genocide were partly to blame for their own genocide. Genocide is genocide. I'd like to comment on the title of the book and the artwork on the cover. 'Another Fine Mess' is an obvious reference to olden days comedians Laurel and Hardy. Hardy's famous catchphrase was "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into." often misquoted as "another fine mess". The association of the genocide in Rwanda with a comedic title makes you wonder what Ms Epstein could have been thinking. The artwork on the cover has different coloured arms with machetes crossing over repeated down the cover. It implies that the Rwandan genocide was the equal responsibility of multiple players, that both Tutsi and Hutu were wielding the machetes. This is an insult to the several hundred thousand Tutsi that were murdered mercilessly by the Hutu perpetrators. Given the overwhelming evidence that the killing was carried out by the Hutu government soldiers and their proxy militias against unarmed Tutsi, it is a form of denial to think otherwise. Genocide denial is a well recognized component of genocide and it starts with the perpetrators and continues long after the genocide has occurred, via people influenced directly by the perpetrators or indirectly by their propaganda.
February 27, 2018
An engaging and brief survey into US support for a dictator (Museveni) in Uganda for ostensible security reasons, only for this support to actually backfire on US security concerns for the region: endless conflict (war in DRC, Somalia, genocide in Rwanda, and warlords in Uganda), as well as the lack of democracy seen firsthand through the brutal murder of a rising star in the opposition party. More notable are the US officials, notably Susan Rice, who did nothing to stop this as part of a larger questionable agenda that failed to achieve its results, and so the costs brought forth in this book, appear unjustifiable. A great text for those beginning to study in depth the continent of Africa.
January 7, 2025
Not a bad book by any means, but I do feel like it was too brief of an exploration into Ugandan politics/politics in the Great Lakes region in general. The run up to the Rwandan genocide was very intense, yet Epstein didn't spend more than a few pages discussing it, which felt a little out of place. I also felt that framing wise; a lot more could have been done with Lawrence and Sejusa's stories. I know this book predates Michele Wrong's Do Not Disturb, but a structure that mixes both personal developments with national/international/military developments could have been really intriguing to see. Still a good primer, and well written overall.
December 22, 2023
Very eye-opening book. Proves the harsh conditions in world politics and local politics, where there are no rights or wrongs and definitely no easy solutions. Speaks strongly for multi-party democratic systems, and and the need to support a functioning opposition, because no person and no country nor organization can make an unbiased judgement of wether a autocratic ruling has sound ambitions or not. I read the book while traveling by bus in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya which gave it some additional flavour. The name of the book is not the best match with the contents.
July 5, 2021
Brief focused journalistic account of a dictator's continued reign by feigning democracy, keeping western money flowing (the uneventful transition from Cold War to War on Terror), fueling ethnic war in neighboring countries and within, and steady oppression and threats to institutions (parliament, press, supreme court) considering stepping out of line. A failed state, or a careful student of what makes America tick?
February 7, 2024
A wonderfully written examination of US policy failures in propping up an African dictator. The author does a great job of weaving the story of an Ugandan exile into every chapter of Museveni’s reign.
June 15, 2021
Why didn't the war in Northern Uganda end sooner than later?
January 25, 2023
Interesting, enlightening, horrifying, infuriating.
July 16, 2020
This book has a very strong thesis and forcefully attempts to support its point throughout the book. I actually find the thesis somewhat questionable but the narrative is interesting and it is always possible to tell where pure facts end and editorializing begins. A very worthwhile read, though I've set at 3 stars since the editorializing did get a bit much at times and the very narrow focus of this book does kind of blunt its impact.
April 18, 2024
I regret not having read this book prior to moving to Uganda. It is a must-read for anyone who wishes to understand some the root causes of Uganda's current state.
September 18, 2018
A thoroughly researched and well written book Museveni's effect in Eastern and Central Africa. It provides insight to how the political landscape is influenced.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews