A success story gone wrong? Time and again, developing countries once considered to be great hopes or success stories end up making negative headlines. This paper contributes to explaining why »development« often does not proceed as the Western world envisions. International cooperation is often based on false development hypotheses. Using Mozambique as an example, we document how a »donor darling« can face challenges of state failure and violent conflict. Cooperation aimed at development, prosperity, overcoming hunger and poverty, and at internal and external security can succeed only after a realistic assessment of a country’s political, economic, social and cultural circumstances