Introduction For the past 36 years, since 1980(?), there has(have) been no less than 28 sub-Saharan countries at war. Despite this staggering statistic, media and modern society has turned their eyes away from these conflicts. Roughly half of the sub-Saharan countries are either at war or having internal conflict within their own nation. These conflicts have posed a great economic and safety threat onto the continent of Africa. In countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, it is no longer safe for an innocent citizen to lead a normal life, as the conflict is(are) located(prevalent would be better) throughout the country. It is no longer completely safe for man (men) and women to go to work or walk the roads at night. The armed conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa has been going on for more than 50 years,(redundant, and you just said it was 36 years?) yet violence is only increasing as the years pass by. Definition of Key Terms Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is simply a geographical term that refers to the countries that are located below the Sahara desert. This area consists of the majority of the African continent, and contains more than 45 countries. Armed Conflict “An armed conflict is a contested incompatibility which concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, results in at least 25 battle-related deaths,” as published in Journal of Peace Research. Background Information History of the region In the 1800’s, there was a high interest in the continent of Africa from European powers, due to its rich amount of resources and potential for new markets to be established. Because of this, the continent of Africa came u... ... middle of paper ... ...e conflict in Africa, creating peace, specifically with children and women in consideration African Union (AU) - African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance This document talks about the relations and the system in which the governments of African countries should be created as, by regulating the voting procedure, and making sure the government is not corrupt. Points to Consider The large amount of civilian casualties that occur due to these conflicts. This website has a large amount of data that could be useful: http://www.globalissues.org/article/84/conflicts-in-africa-introduction#ManyConflictsThroughoutAfrica The economies of sub-Saharan Africa, and how the conflict has affected them. Consider the treaties that countries might have with each other. Most countries are part of the African Union, yet are at war with each other. Keep this point in mind.
Europe, in the late 1800’s, was starting for a land grab in the African continent. Around 1878, most of Africa was unexplored, but by 1914, most of Africa, with the lucky exception of Liberia and Ethiopia, was carved up between European powers. There were countless motivations that spurred the European powers to carve Africa, like economical, political, and socio–cultural, and there were countless attitudes towards this expansion into Africa, some of approval and some of condemnation.
Couttenier, Mathieu, and Raphael Soubeyran. "Drought and Civil War in Sub-Saharan Africa." Paris School of Economics, July 2011. Accessed June 9, 2014.
For developing regions, Latin America and Africa are a few of the focal countries to analyze civil war onset and for future preventions. Cuba, now a communist state underwent political turmoil from leaders like Fidel Castro to achieve its present government. Nigeria, a prominent oil powerhouse also faced ethnic conflict stemming from its diverse population. Both countries are still susceptible to future conflicts, but learning from their own history could easily prevent it from happening.
Orogun, P. (2004). "Blood diamonds" and Africa's armed conflicts in the post—cold war era. World Affairs, 166(3), 151-161. doi:10.3200/WAFS.166.3.151-161
Due in part to its tumultuous past, sub-Saharan Africa is a region of the world that is stricken with war, famine, and poverty. Many people in richer parts of the world, including North America and Europe, view helping the people who inhabit this part of the world as their duty and obligation. Both non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and governmental organizations such as the United Nations (UN) alike send humanitarian aid to sub-Saharan Africa. While this aid helps countless individuals and their families, humanitarian aid in sub-Saharan Africa fuels further conflict and enables violent groups, undermining the goals of the aid itself.
The fall of the Soviet Union ushered in the era democracy. The world has seen, since then, many countries overthrow their old governmental structures in favor of democracy. However, for some countries this is only a dream, because sustainable peace requires not just a reform of government but a reform of all agencies in any way connected to the government. One major area that must be reformed in order for a democracy to thrive is the Security Sector. The best way to affect sustainable peace through security sector reform is to allow the people of a country to reform their security sector with aid from or based on a more experienced democratic power this can be seen through two cases: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Romania.
There are variations in the degree and type of ethnic conflict, and much of it is thought to be due to the colonial governing style. In the African post-colonial era there has been everything from cases of ongoing conflict, occasional violent inter-ethnic encounters, and countries that are relatively free of any significant ethnic violence.
The conflict of Western Sahara deserves global attention because the was has caused the displacement of thousands of people and many deaths. There are many reports of violence and human rights abuses in the territory. For example, Western Sahara citizens are able to protest but the police will often disperse them violently. Europe and the United States say their worry is that the conflict is souring relations between Morocco and Algeria and preventing them from working together against Islamist violence. Also the eight Millennium Development Goals e...
Problems began for Africa when there was the “scramble for Africa. Africa was extremely divided throughout the continent. There was no nation intact. Even though they were divided into colonies, they still had no sovereignty. Since they had no form of nationalism it made it impossible to succeed as a nation. This really hurt Africa economically. If they would have been able to come together as a nation they could have pulled all of their assets together and exploit them in order to make money. By not doing this it allowed the government to exploit the people. This is why there are starving people in Africa on television. The states of Africa were created in order to make money by exporting all the various resources, whether it was slaves, minerals, or agriculture. There was much to gain by owning a chunk of land in Africa. This reason being because Africa is so rich in their resources for trade. After the race was over it left Africa severely divided.
McInnes, Colin. 2011. "HIV, AIDS and conflict in Africa: why isn't it (even) worse?" Review of International Studies 37 (2): 485-509.
The Berlin Conference of 1884 peacefully divided Africa between world leaders. The conference, also known as the Congo Conference, looked at Africa as a great source of wealth in many areas to be shared among the participating countries. The division that took place at no time had at interest the people of Africa. By the time Africa regained its freedom in the 1950’s most areas had developed severe political and racial division. The result of this turbulence and division is the occurrence of such violent civil wars and genocides in African countries such as Rwanda.
There are a lot of causes of the scramble for Africa, and one of them was to ‘liberate’ the slaves in Africa after the slave trade ended. The slave trade was a time during the age of colonization when the Europeans, American and African traded with each oth...
On the eastern coast of Africa lies a land full of sunny blue skies and large plains in which zebras and elephants roam. This land is the country of Kenya. Outside of Kenya’s cities and towns lies many samples of natures beauty. Unfortunately, the people living in this land are troubled by their struggle with the government and trying to form a democracy. Matthew Carotenuto stated, “Much of the world had historically viewed Kenya as an island of peace and economic potential in a roiling sea of stateless chaos.” What he means is that people have long seen Kenya as a peaceful place that is surrounded by countries suffering from all sorts of violence and unfortunate circumstances. What many people do not know is that Kenya has a long history for political violence going way back to when the country was colonized. Understanding that Kenya’s past violence was due to their struggle for social and political authority helps us understand some of their violence issues today. According to Maina Kiai, violence broke out after Kenya’s 2007 election. Many people had thought that Kenya was a more peaceful country compared to others in Africa because they were working towards a democracy. Currently Kenya is a republic (“Kenya” The World...). Another thing Kiai mentioned is that one of Kenya’s major political problems is that Kenya's constitution gives the president full power to elect anyone he wants into a political position for any salary he chooses. Scott Baldauf and Robert Crilly also explain how Kenya is trying to become a democracy but its political system is weak and allows the president too much power, making the nation a dictatorship in disguise. This leads to many ethical issues within the governments systems. We should care about Ken...
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
The people of the Congo faced physical, psychological damage due to the violation of their human rights and the rape and other sexual violence, which contributes to the spread of HIV/AIDS. The health care, education and legal systems are in shambles due to the ongoing violence of the war and are still a factor today. The UN still aid in trying to end the ongoing war that’s now in its thirteenth year it is the largest and longest lasting war to date with the uncontrollable attacks from the rebels. The rebels continue to kill and plunder the natural resources with impunity. The international and political support continues but their efforts have proven futile.