While the source of the conflict may be political, social, economic or religious, the individuals in conflict must expressly fight for their ethnic groups position within society. The causes of ethnic conflicts in the northern region of ghana are varied. The destabilization of provinces, states, and, in some cases, even whole. A third group of countries, including zimbabwe, namibia, and modernday south africa, suffers racial, ethnic, religious, or cultural divisions severe enough to require special arrangements to be. Reexamining ethnic conflict in subsaharan africa yale political. Scholarly studies about this conflict are sophisticated, but still unsatisfying. Causes of conflicts in africaconflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. The causes of conflicts in africa is varied and usually embedded in a multiplicity of factors.
Because kenya has one of the most advanced land titling systems in africa, the findings from this country will provide. The root causes of ethnic conflict in africa are poorly understood. Pdf the root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa. Conflicts in the balkans, rwanda, chechnya, iraq, indonesia, sri lanka, india, and darfur, as well as in israel, the west bank, and the gaza strip, are among the bestknown and deadliest examples from the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Moreover, ethnic conflict is a contested area of study in the studies of politics, many theories have been proposed to explain what the root causes of ethnic conflict are.
The author compares three such cases, in sudan, ethiopia, and kenya, arguing that they are best understood as political conflicts, driven by corrupt, undemocratic political systems. The nature of ethnic conflict in africa, insurgence and relative. Pdf structural causes of ethnic conflict researchgate. Before the arrival of the european colonialists, african boundaries reflected the ethnic. Although each of these wars has been termed ethnic conflict, one encounters tremendous difficulty when trying to analyse what is meant by this term and what these conflicts have been about. Ethnic conflict remains one of the significant security challenges of today. But in much of the rest of the continent we have weak. An understanding of a conflict like this sudan will give us a fair understanding of the complications involved in africa conflict. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. Other scholars have explained inter ethnic conflicts within the framework of the struggle for autonomy, litigation over land tenure. Pdf ethnicity as the root cause of conflict and its effect. Conflicts in africa seem to have been brought about by a variety of variables, for example, resource scarcity, arbitrary borders made by the pioneer powers, heterogeneous ethnic compositions of. There is evidence to suggest that where ethnic conflict has emerged in africa, there have always been political ma china tions behind it. Regional approaches to conflict prevention in africa.
The underlying ethnic tensions seemed to not only prompt the struggle, but exacerbate it. Cultural rivalry is mainly linked to major communities such as the kikuyus, luos, and luhyas but has currently shifted to even minor ones. Conflict resolution and peace buildind in africa as a process. A literature search indicates the following to be prominent direct or indirect causes. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. Should the map of africa be redrawn to reflect ethnic, cultural and geographic diversity, as some scholars argue, it is not clear that peace, security, stability and development will result. Hence, ethnic conflicts and the encompassing civil wars. Most of the available sources address ethnic conflict in africa from the point of. Although democracy made a historic leap forward in africa in the last few years, many frightening challenges and obstacles are still threatening its consolidation these impediments include, inter alia, violence and ethnic conflicts. They arise from anomalous economic, political and social. The two dominant approaches to considering the correlation between conflict and ethnicity are the grievance model, which traditionally frames ethnic tensions. This book examines offers a fuller picture of how armed ethnic conflicts in africa begin. Causes of religious conflicts in kenya religious conflict in kenya is in most cases linked to general intercommunal conflict and follows almost synonymous pattern as that of inter ethnic conflict.
The origins of ethnic conflict in africa politics and. Finally, debates continued between ethnic and ethiopian nationalists on such fundamental issues as the history, identity and future destiny of the country. In central african republic, the conflict between armed groups is now compounded by a conflict between armed communities. Ethnic rivalry and conflicts manifest themselves from a process of resource allocation and in the process of the struggle to have a sharing formula, of such resources. They include competition for chieftaincy positions and litigation over rights of land tenure tsikata and seini 2004. Other ethnic groups, on the other hand, have fewer pending conflicts currently than the masai, but worry more about future conflicts. Literature on causes of ethnic conflict covers a number of competing theories. For most of the minor communities, their issues remained unsolved. Interethnic conflicts and their impact on national.
Political instability in africa may owe much of its cause to internal factors, however the. The primary causes of ethnic conflict in ethiopia bartleby. Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi ethnic societies during second half of twenty century and beginning of new century. Intra ethnic or intercommunity conflicts include ifemodakeke, umuleri. As an american medical association article details, violent acts against liberian women became more common if they were accused of belonging to a certain ethnic faction, highlighting the magnitude of ethnicitys part in the conflict swiss et al.
Igbohausa feud that began after the military coup and countercoup of 1966, culminating in the civil war in 1967, efikibibio conflict, tivjukun debacle, fulanibirom clashes, and itsekiriurhoboijaw conflict in the niger delta. In nigeria, the colonial masters provided urban setting, which constitutes the cradle of contemporary ethnicity. He is a board member of the west african network for peacebuilding accra, ghana and the board chairman of the organization in nigeria. 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. Peace negotiations and agreements in africa why they fail. Resource based conflicts and political instability in africa. It is therefore not surprising to note that at least twice 196770 civil war and 1993 1999 friction ethnic rivalry has been the major cause of. Such conflicts have existed all over the world for centuries, but in the last 20 years, after the fall of communism, they are in the focus of public attention due to the war in rwanda, the events in eastern europe, and the. Conflicts arising from the construction of ethnicity to conceal exploitation by building solidarity across class lines, conflicts arising from appeal to ethnic support in the face of vanishing political legitimacy and from. Ethnic conflicts in caucasus have gained less scholarly interest than, for example, the former yugoslavia or conflicts in africa. The impact of conflicts in the horn of africa a case study.
Since the period of decolonization, many of these places have been the scenes of significant inter ethnic conflict which has led to political instability, civil wars, and mass atrocities including genocide. 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. Conflict is not a new phenomenon in africa the last three decades have seen many civil wars and coups detat but the last ten years or so have seen a disturbing escalation in the violence, which increasingly crosses borders. Feb, 2018 ethnic conflicts have become the serious challenge of our times, which perhaps explains why ethnicity is seen as the reigning concept in african studies at present. Ethnic conflict is one of the major threats to international peace and security. Nigeria is a complex country in africa with over 300 ethnic groups and 120 different languages spoken. Resource based conflicts and political instability in. Bujra published 2002 political science all views expressed in the occasional papers are those of the authors and not necessarily those of dpmf. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due. Conflict resolution and peace buildind in africa as a. Oct 02, 2020 this paper proposes, among other things, that ethnic conflicts in africa are fallout of colonialism. Ethnic conflict is not caused directly by intergroup differences, ancient hatreds. 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. Ethnic conflicts were the main forms of political instability in the multi.
Many countries in africa have numerous ethnicities. It is not sufficient to have a latent ethnic identity, there needs to be the causes and process of activation to bring that identity in the political. Political instability in africa where the problem lies and. Various studies which have been carried out in africa tend to point out at economic, political, ethnic, ideological, resources and religious causes mwagiru, op. Africa today has the highest number of tribes and hence the highest number of conflicts and instability. Sometimes these interethnic conflicts over land and cattle develop into.
North africa was a crucial combat zone during both wars. Poor governance by far, the most important factor causing africas conflicts is poor governance. Sometimes these inter ethnic conflicts over land and cattle develop into. Of these, economic followed by political causes have the highest ranking as the most common causes. Most of the available sources address ethnic conflict in africa from. The sudan conflict for one, has been persistent on the continent, taking up many dynamics and motivations. The author shows how african perspectives on war and diplomacy have evolved under the influence of nonliteracy, tribalism, and a concept of undifferentiated time. Economics of civil conflicts in africa, which was held at the uneca, addis. Oct 01, 2020 though conflicts have emerged in different regions of the continent, there are certain common causes that runs through. Of course racial conflict have exist for centuries in africa and have. South sudan produces the ethnic security dilemma where ethnic grievances prevailed due to unequal or unfair governance resulting in intercommunal violence between the murle and. What made the negotiations in south africa to succeed was, among other things, the continuous existence of a strong state. The roadmap to end the crisis including elections late 2015 presents only a shortterm answer and risks exacerbating existing tensions. This final criterion differentiates ethnic conflict from other forms of struggle.
Tribalism is a major cause of conflict, not just in africa but in kenya especially. Conflicts are a complex phenomenon, but one feature does stand out. It will then identify theoretical pathways and conditions that can cause leaders to focus on ethnic identity and connect these factors with likely outcomes. The study analyses the issue of ethinic secessionism and its. The study aimed at assessing the impact of conflicts in the horn of africa with a special focus on kenya. An ethnic conflict is a conflict between two or more contending ethnic groups. Some of the forgotten, but persistent african conflicts and their principal causes have been indicated in the table below. South africa and conflict resolution in africa 27 that made the negotiated settlement possible do not exist elsewhere shillinger 2009, solomon 2010. To a great extent there would be nothing wrong to have all these ethnic. The goal of this study determinates social context of ethnic conflict in multi ethnic societies. Above the cacophony of ethnic and antiregime agitations.
There are contested boundaries among the regional states and minorities within the. According to this group, several inter and intra ethnic conflicts have of the federal structure. International alert works regionally in africa,eurasia,southern asia and latin america and conducts policy and practiceorientated research and advocacy aimed at promoting sustainable. The conflicts were both causes and effects of the escalation of contending ethnic mobilisation.
Jan 28, 2014 research conducted across the subregion identifies ethnicity and ethnic fragmentation as one of the root causes of violent conflicts in west africa. This may indicate that they have mechanisms to resolve conflicts and may not have pressing issues that cause them to worry about future conflicts. The causes of ethnic conflicts byu scholarsarchive. The impact of conflicts in the horn of africa a case study of. Differences of educational attainment, occupational level and land holdings across ethnic groups lead to a security dilemma which causes separatist or ethnic conflict. Nigeria is a complex country in africa with over 300 ethnic groups and 120 different languages spoken throughout the country. Pdf this article argues that ethnic conflicts in africa often have structural sources. Common to many conflicts is the unsatisfactory nature of interstate borders. Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics. Localities, states, and sometimes whole regions have been engulfed in. Ethnic politics as a cause of ethnic inequalities in africa.
One of the causes of interstate conflicts in africa is the colonial boundaries. Regional context of conflicts today more than ever before, conflict in africa is regional in nature. Conflict arising from the militarization of the society. Ethnicity and ethnic conflict violence in twentieth century. Most of the available sources address ethnic conflict in africa from the point of view of either ethnic diversity or climate change and competition for natural resources to the exclusion of mass grievances to the state. The study on conflicts in africa by aremu 2010 identified the creation. Abstract ethnic conflict in nigeria has led to the lack of peace and harmony. This research project seeks to ask what the primary. 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. Battle and total war deaths in selected african countries.
In this chapter some of the problems associated with the concept of ethnicity and ethnic conflict as they apply to the horn of africa will be examined. The horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. Relying on the comparative study of nigeria and south africa, it is the contention in this. 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. Bainesreceived a phd in international studies from dalhousie university. As a general rule, the process of conflict outbreak involves three. Most of the victims of civil war are civilians, who are subjected to, or witness, warrelated traumatic events such as shootings, the consequences of conflict table 2. To answer this question, adda bozeman examines conflict in africa south of the sahara in its many social, political, and cultural aspects, past and present. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa. The transitional authorities and their international partners must address crucial issues by implementing a comprehensive disarmament policy and reaffirming that muslims belong within the. He has published extensively on issues pertaining to peace and con.
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