Causes of conflict in west africa pdf

Even though debatable, poverty is continuously cited as one of the principal factors responsible for instability in many parts of africa. The implications of crises and conflict in the upper nile valley. Despite diversity is known as unity, africas diversity has been a source of conflict for civil war. Causes, challenges and prospects article pdf available january 2014 with 782 reads how we measure reads.

Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. The westafrican subregion has earned a reputation as a home of bloody civil wars. Conflict over natural resources has made africa the focus of international attention, particularly during the last decade. The west african subregion has earned a reputation as a home of bloody civil wars. Uncertainty, each ethnic conflict has its own unique characteristics and, in different contexts, some of these elements will be more prominent than the others, but all of them are the common denominators necessary for ethnic conflict to occur. Darfur made a rare appearance on the radar of western concern in 2004 at a time when the known death toll from conflict there was still 80 times smaller than that in the drc. President ellen johnson sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of economic community of west african states ecowas and a number of former heads of state attending ecowas international conference in monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socioeconomic and political. Sep 27, 2014 this article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. In developing country incidence were low and in the developing sever. Small arms and light weapons proliferation and its.

These conflicts are often hinged on several factors including poverty, human rights violations, bad governance and corruption, ethnic. Developing country management ethnic conflict by participation and justice policy that the equality is the best way for resolve this problem. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa science. This condition has diverted the attention of governments from development to security. In contrast, in east africa there are more conflicts among pastoralists, which. Marvin nii ankrah author year 20 pages 82 catalog number v231798 file size 800 kb language english tags the organisation of african unity oau economic community of west african states ecowas conflict resolution model multisectoral approach sub. Regional variations in three principal conflict trends are then presented for the central, east, west, and southern regions of africa. Economic and political causes of civil wars in africa.

It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. Religion and reproductive health in west african traditional religion. Humanwildlife conflict does not occur only in africa. The spread and misuse of small arms helps fuel conflict, and conflict generates a. Mar 02, 2015 the horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe.

Violent conflicts and civil strife in west africa ending violent conflicts in west africa remains one of the main challenges of the sub region. Some econometric results 7 also, rebellions may occur when forgone income is unusually low and this can be proxied by mean income per capita, male secondary schooling, and the growth rate of the economy in the preceding period representing new income opportunities. North to south, east to west and central is conflict and wars. There is a great deal of interest in the causes and consequences of conflict in africa, one of the poorest areas of the world where only modest economic progress has been made. This paper posits that the poor understanding of the fundamental causes of west africa s violent conflicts and civil strife would likely cause the subregion to continue experiencing and. Since we have looked at some of the causes of conflict in africa, let us come back home and look at some of the sources of conflict in our country.

The causes and dynamics of conflict in subsaharan africa subsaharan africa is a vast land rich in natural resources with great potential for investment and opportunity. One may even assert that the major current that runs through africa. These conflicts are often hinged on several factors including poverty, human rights violations, bad governance and corruption, ethnic marginalization and small. Pdf violent conflicts and civil strife in west africa. The causes of conflicts in africa are many and they frequently recur, including major causes of potential tensions and conflicts, which could perhaps be summarised and classified below. Mar 15, 20 the causes for west africas tendency to conflict are diverse and highly interlinked. While i focus here on west africa, similar conflicts also occur in east africa e. Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. The roadmap to end the crisis including elections late 2015 presents only a shortterm answer and risks exacerbating existing tensions. Paradoxically, the prevalence of highintensity conflicts hic or complex politica emergencies intrastate wars, interstate wars and insurgencies, which engulfed the region in the 1990s, has obscured an equally important form of conflict. But even when there is coverage of conflicts in africa, the death toll has little to do with the levels of coverage. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. Indeed, tuareg, arab, songhay or fulani northern people all have different political agendas, and do not share the same culture, political history, languages or traditions. However, this engagement is voluntary as there is no question about conflict in the crosscutting chapter.

The problems of small arms, conflict and human rights abuses in west africa are interwoven. Against this background, the author attempts to support discourses on violent conflicts and civil strife in west africa by first giving an overview of. In 1856, a young xhosa girl, nongqawuse, thus had a prophetic vision from two strang ers from overseas of future redemption of her people. Two new institutions now at work in africa hold some promise for the future. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa. Conflicts in nigeria, guineabissau, sierra leone, liberia, cote divoire and other west african countries notably hinge upon bad governance and corruption. West african network for peacebuilding wanep, african security dialogue. Peters 2006 notes that conflict, at all levels, may arise due to the desire for political, economic and social advantages, greed, egorelated problems. Coast, in presentday west africa, due to the abundance of the malaquette pepper in the. Read conflicts in africaintroduction to learn more. A conflict, as a state of disagreement may lead to crisis or violence peters, 2006.

Humanwildlife conflict has been in existence for as long as humans and wild animals have shared the same landscapes and resources see below. The roots of malis conflict cru report, march 2015 inclusive peace talks and agreements far harder to reach. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethnolinguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including us for their strategic interest over the region. The history of africa as a continent is replete with conflict. Africa is highly divers in culture, tradition, religion and ways of life. May 12, 2010 but even when there is coverage of conflicts in africa, the death toll has little to do with the levels of coverage. These conflicts do not only cause significant human casualties. The continent of africa has been highly susceptible to intra and inter state wars and conflicts. Understanding africas contemporary conflicts africa portal. Consultative meeting of experts on development of a practice guide for responding to electoral disputes in west africa, accra, ghana. War parts of east and west africa served as important theaters of war, while. In the west conflict has exploded in cote divoire and now threatens to reignite west africa s longrunning regional wars.

Poverty in africa map of the places connected to electricity network better off rich or poor. African countries share similarities but are also different. The quest for peace in liberia heneryatta ballah, mcnair scholar, pennsylvania state university. Colonial production, extraverted and coercive as it already was, was ruthlessly reorganized to produce record amounts of primary agricultural and mineral commodities for the imperial armies and economies. Why africa remains underdeveloped despite its potential. Nations in conflict prevention and resolution in west africa and finally propose some solutions to intrastate conflicts in west africa. The conceptual issues the history of postindependence west africa, especially the past two decades, has been blighted by virulent conflicts. Although the mention of conflict is not as prevalent in the development chapter, there are allusions to factors causing or influencing conflict. This paper asks whether postcolonial conflict is, at least in part, a legacy of historical conflict by examining the empirical relationship between conflict in africa. Small arms and conflict in west africa human rights watch.

North africa was a crucial combat zone during both wars. In central african republic, the conflict between armed groups is now compounded by a conflict between armed communities. The causes for west africas tendency to conflict are diverse and highly interlinked. Conflict in west african states einternational relations. The transitional authorities and their international partners must address crucial issues by implementing a comprehensive disarmament. This paper posits that the poor understanding of the fundamental causes of west africas violent conflicts and civil strife would likely cause the subregion to. But incidence of ethnic violence was different in varying country. President ellen johnson sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of economic community of west african states ecowas and a number of former heads of state attending ecowas international conference in monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socio. This is possibly attributed to the sudden shift from interstate to intrastate conflicts that characterized most part of the late 1980s through to the 21st century.

Since the 1960s, series of civil wars had taken place in africa. In between there were several short border conflicts mainly in west. Conflicts in west africa kenneth omeje introduction. Common to many conflicts is the unsatisfactory nature of interstate borders. Th e paper commences with an overview of the three main religious families on the continent, i. From oil in nigeria and diamonds in the democratic republic of congo, to land in zimbabwe and water in thehorn of africa, the politi. The spread and misuse of small arms helps fuel conflict, and conflict generates a market for more weapons. Nigeria has in the past decade witness increased violence and small arms circulation, its proliferation was. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics. Jackson talks about the accumulation of political, economic. Definition of west africa for the purpose of this paper west africa refers to the aggregate of the people and geographical landmass of the 15 sovereign countries that constitute the economic community. In the west conflict has exploded in cote divoire and now threatens to reignite west africas longrunning regional wars. However, the two modern trends of democracy and economic prosperity elude this region due in large part to persistent conflict and complex sociopolitical dynamics.

Nowadays humanwildlife conflict exists in one form or another all over the world. The case of the organisation of african unity oau author. The latest and strangest border dispute is between ethiopia and. Her vision promised an expulsion of the whites from africa and future prosperity for the xhosa, if only they cleansed themselves of witchcraft by slaying their cattle. The causes of violent conflicts in africa are many and varied in both their nature and destructive consequences. Most pathetic about these conflagrations is that they have defied any meaningful solution and their negative impacts have retarded growth and development in africa while an end to them seems obscure. For instance, in the sierra leonean war, it was identified that bad governance, corruption and poverty were the root causes of the conflict fithen 1999. How the ifp was drawn into the election, track two, vol. Conflict is ubiquitous in west africa, where farming and herding production systems are integrated at the household, community, and regional levels. Into mid2011, the worlds worst food crisis is being felt in east africa, in ethiopia, somalia and kenya. A major cause of african conflicts has been ethnicity, and it has continued to be so. With the end of the cold war, poverty and conflict have become the biggest challenges to sustainable development. Eight macrocomparative perspectives on conflict trends in africa are charted in order to establish a fairly comprehensive picture and understanding of the background of the situation in the region in mid2005. Most pathetic about these conflagrations is that they have defied any meaningful solution and their negative impacts have retarded growth and development in africa.

This article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Jan 28, 2014 root causes of conflict in guineabissau. The transitional authorities and their international partners must address crucial issues by implementing a. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. And, despite the recent negotiations between the ecowas and the former president, charles taylor, which sent the latter into exile in nigeria, the fact remains that the conflict continues to rage beneath. One of the leading causes of internal and interstate conflicts is the unacceptable nature of intercountry borders. Current conflicts in africa 2020 and examples information. Attempts initiated by the economic community of west african states ecowas, to resolve the conflict have all failed. Conflict is a situation whereby individuals, groups, or countries are involved in disagreement over an issue. One of the leading causes of conflict in kenya is when individuals clash over limited resources such as land and water. Presumably then, the conflicts are a unique mix of these similarities and differences. To be sure, conflict in west africa has attracted considerable scholarly.

Libyan civil war 2014date this is the second civil war in libya and it is an ongoing conflict among rival factions who are seeking to take control of the territory and crude oil of libya. While some may trace their sources into history, some are the consequences of the legacy of colonialism and the exigencies of the cold war. The legacy of historical conflict evidence from africa. The creation of new nationstates at the time of independence was accompanied urgent calls for nationbuilding by the new african leaders who were well aware of the difficulty in transcending african ethnic and regional loyalties. Jackson talks about the accumulation of political, economic, structural, historical and cultural factors 2006. West africa conflicts killed hundreds of thousands of people, cost the international community billions of dollars, and caused massive underdevelopment. This has prompted the insinuation that africa is the home of wars and instability. The horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe.