Climate change and conflicts in the middle east and north. There have been a number of separatist movement causing attempts of secession such as katangain zaire, biafra in nigeria and others in sudan ethiopia and somalia. Colonialism, in the traditional sense, ended as european countries started fighting over themselves over the world the world wars and in effect, weakened themselves in the process allowing the united states and soviet union to eventually. The anatomy of conflicts in the east african community eac. What are the causes of conflict in the middle east. In contrast, in east africa there are more conflicts among pastoralists, which. This paper examines african conflicts and the roles of the african union au in conflict resolution, focusing on the recent zimbabwe and kenya conflicts.
The scramble for africa, a 10 minute clip from the documentary uganda rising, mindset media, 2006. In central african republic, the conflict between armed groups is now compounded by a conflict between armed communities. Environmental impacts and causes of conflict in the horn. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics. Understanding africas contemporary conflicts africa portal. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. The causes of return to conflict and the geopolitical. This lesson walks you through the causes and effects of conflict in africa.
Into mid2011, the worlds worst food crisis is being felt in east africa, in ethiopia, somalia and kenya. Social conflict and political violence in africa is a complex subject, and it will be useful to note a few trends in african civil violence, discuss a common but misleading explanations for civil wars in africa, and then suggest two alternative framing for the patterns observed. The horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. Since the civil war in liberia, conflicts have escalated, unleashing significant humanitarian consequences across borders. The extra infant deaths caused by the war in cambodia, for example, were estimated to be 3% of the countrys 1990 population.
The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa science. The kenya coalition against landmines and the jaramogi oginga odinga foundation, all kenyanbased initiatives, met here during august 34 to address issues relating to peace and to consider. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa. The roadmap to end the crisis including elections late 2015 presents only a shortterm answer and risks exacerbating existing tensions. This has prompted the insinuation that africa is the home of wars and instability. The case of the organisation of african unity oau author. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national violence riots, massacres, etc. The transitional authorities and their international partners must address crucial issues by implementing a. 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. Conflicts trends armed conflicts in 2006, 2008 and 2011 inter and intra state wars part 2. Roundtable discussion on preventing conflicts in africa.
Regional approaches to conflict management in africa. Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. Since ethnic conflicts abound, and are escalating in contemporary africa, many have simply traced the root cause of armed conflicts to the multiethnic composition of african states. We all know that africa is a diverse continent with various ethnic groups, religions, and sociocultural affiliations. Examples include the conflicts in the democratic republic of congo drc, angola and sierra leone. The middle east and north africa mena region serious examples of the use of water as a target and weapon of war were reported in lib ya, during the civil war there, and in the longstanding dispute over borders, land, settle. With the exception of the two almost simultaneous terrorist attacks against u. African conflicts are frequently brushed off and dismissed as being chaotic, or worthy of some vague pity or humanitarian concern, but rarely of any indepth political analysis. Conflicts are proliferating in the middle east and north africa mena. Feb 09, 2002 the extra infant deaths caused by the war in cambodia, for example, were estimated to be 3% of the countrys 1990 population. Because kenya has one of the most advanced land titling systems in africa, the findings from this country will provide. It situates the question of conflict within the context of the northern region of ghana and defines conflict as a situation in which people, groups or. To cite this article okumu, wafula2010 resources and border disputes in eastern africa, journal of eastern african studies, 4. This volume offers theoretically sophisticated, empirically grounded, and compelling analyses of the roots of african conflicts.
The basis of understanding conflict, security and collective wellbeing of people includes relationships that dominate interactions of two or more entities in contact with one another. Beath, andrew, fotini christia and ruben enikopolov. Resource based conflicts and political instability in. The history of west africa is a series of conflicts. Causes, conflicts, escalation, ethnic polarization, horn of africa, radicalism. The recent expansion of the east african community to include rwanda and. Natural resources and conflict management in east africa. The case of the organisation of african unity oau marvin nii ankrah textbook politics international politics region. 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. While i focus here on west africa, similar conflicts also occur in east africa e. While africa has had its share of interstate wars, the majority of its conflicts were internal, and these internal conflicts appear to be increasing, as elsewhere. Regional variations in three principal conflict trends are then presented for the central, east, west, and southern regions of africa. Conflict in west african states einternational relations.
Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. In 2015, the middle east remained an area of major insecurity, and a source of profound problems and challenges for neighbouring regions, most notably in the form of the terrorist attacks in paris and elsewhere and the displacement of huge numbers of refugees. Conflict research consortium, university of colorado, boulder. Pdf resources and border disputes in eastern africa. 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. Common to many conflicts is the unsatisfactory nature of interstate borders.
This article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Political instability in africa may owe much of its cause to internal factors, however the. The causes of conflict are too often examined by scholars from the countries that run the proxy wars and sell the arms to fuel them. One of the leading causes of internal and interstate conflicts is the unacceptable nature of intercountry borders. To have few resources at the disposal of a colossal number of people is to direct the emergence of poverty, just as ghandi of india put it. Understanding the causes and impacts of conflicts in the. This is the extent of the ottoman caliphate under suleiman the magnificent. It situates the question of conflict within the context of the northern region of ghana and defines conflict as a. January 20th the economic causes of civil conflict edward miguel, shanker satyanath and ernest sergenti, 2004.
This is particularly important because the continents geographical attributes and limitations serve to explain the causes and manifestations of some of the conflicts. Fsi spice social conflict and political violence in africa. 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. Sep 27, 2014 this article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. What is also true is that more than half of the nations in africa have been affected by conflicts that have led to the death of many individuals, huge financial burden to the economy, massive displacements, and hindrances to the development of african countries. Mar 02, 2015 the horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. In this paper the causes and impacts of conflicts in northern region are examined, with particular reference to the konkomba interethnic conflicts. The economic impact of conflicts and the refugee crisis in. But even when there is coverage of conflicts in africa, the death toll has little to do with the levels of coverage. In the postcolonial era, from the late 1950s to the present, the region has experienced several devastating interstate wars, including the ethiopiansomali wars 1964, 197778, 20069, the kenyansomali war 1963, the ugandantanzanian war 197879 and the ethiopianeritrean border war 19982000. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 41 that determine relationships. Read conflicts in africaintroduction to learn more. Water brief 3 water and conflict events, trends, and analysis 20112012.
A comparative perspective of ecomog peace operations in liberia and sierra leone. It is predicted that climatic extremes will worsen in the coming decades1. North to south, east to west and central is conflict and wars. Resource based conflicts and political instability in africa. This is a list of conflicts in africa arranged by country, both on the continent and associated islands, including wars between african nations, civil wars, and wars involving nonafrican nations that took place within africa. They attempt to explain factors leading to conflicts, such as kaplan1 1994, who perceived the african continent as wild and backward. Pdf because of changes in some underlying factors, land is increasingly becoming a source of conflicts in africa. Geography of conflicts zones of peace and war global peace index part 4. A tragic factor in this is that the civilian populations bear the brunt of the casualties in such conflicts, estimated at some 8090 per cent of total casualties across the world.
Causes of conflicts firstly, the literature available regarding the causes of conflict often showed how leading scholars influence the perception and, subsequently, shape policies. The horn of africa is a region heavily impacted by wars and conflicts. Literature on causes of ethnic conflict covers a number of competing theories. This answer will strike any as a copout off other answers but it really isnt, because when you really think about it, its all of them. Causes, impact and implications for the great lakes region executive summary the democratic republic of congo is recovering from conflicts, posting substantial improve ment in overall macroeconomic performance since the cessation of the war, on the back of robust copper and cobalt exports. 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. However, the two modern trends of democracy and economic prosperity elude this region due in large part to persistent conflict and complex sociopolitical dynamics. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries. How minerals fuel conflicts in africa, nicolas berman, mathieu couttenier, dominic rohner. Pdf african union, conflict, and conflict resolution in. 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.
Root causes, consequences, and solutions for the future ppha 3874001 course information. Why have west african states been so prone to conflict over the past generation. Below, we provide an update with key examples from this twoyear. Definitions and types definitions cow and ucdp conflicts by actors and incompatibility new wars greed and grievance criticism part 3. Colonialism, in the traditional sense, ended as european countries started fighting over themselves over the world the world wars and in effect, weakened themselves in the process allowing the united states and soviet union to eventually gain in immense power. 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. Conflict is ubiquitous in west africa, where farming and herding production systems are integrated at the household, community, and regional levels.
The common notion is that the multiethnic african state is inherently conflictual and therefore conflict is an intrinsic phenomenon of the multiethnic state. In discussing conflicts over natural resources in africa, we need to investigate the role geography plays in the whole equation. Presumably then, the conflicts are a unique mix of these similarities and differences. In this rapidly changing world it is essential to understand that conflicts are unique and understanding a conflict is the first step on the path to addressing it. Political instability in africa where the problem lies and. Before tackling conflicts in africa one should first consider conflict in general. Though it is acknowledged that many conflicts do have their origin in their colonial past, there is a generally widespread perception and agreement that contemporary conflicts in the horn of africa are caused by some of the factors mentioned below. The continent of africa has been highly susceptible to intra and inter state wars and conflicts. The objective of this research was to investigate the causes of conflict in africa and the role. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project.