Synopses & Reviews
More and more African countries are falling prey to civil war and the disintegration of government authority and social order. Here, for the first time, teams of African scholars actually based in the countries principally affected examine what is happening. Their first aim has been to understand the complex and diverse roots of these conflicts. To this end, they analyse the conflicts in Angola, Burundi and Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Somalia and Somaliland. They also reflect on the general obstacles to comprehending conflict in Africa.
Possible ways of anticipating, containing and indeed preventing new conflicts are discussed, as are the experiences of successful transitions to peace in Northern Mali and post-civil war Nigeria.
Proposals for mastering conflict in future range over a wide diversity of ideas like a moratorium on the importation of arms, trans-frontier development projects, political reform creating real space for participation by different social groups, and governmental decentralisation.
This timely volume is a significant contribution by African intellectuals to resolving the most intractable problems confronting Sub-Saharan Africa.
Synopsis
Countries in Africa continue to fall prey to civil war and the disintegration of governmental authority and social order. The contributors to this book believe that a development agenda to improve people's lives and strengthen national economies cannot be effective until Africa masters its problems of governance. They examine the complex and diverse roots of conflicts in Angola, Burundi and Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Somalia and Somaliland, and offer historical and comparative reflections. Drawing on the experiences of Northern Mali, Nigeria, the part played by NGOs in Rwanda, and the role of regional cooperation, they explore possible ways of anticipating, containing and indeed preventing new conflicts.
About the Author
Adebayo Adedeji is a renowned economist and Director of the African Center for Development and Strategic Studies (ACDESS), Nigeria.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Issues at Stake::1. Comprehending African Conflicts - Adebayo Adedeji::2. Mastering African Conflicts - Amadou Toumani Toure::3. Obstacles to Comprehension and Barriers to the Mastery of Conflicts - Reginald Herbold Green::4. Achieving Good Governance in Post-conflict Situations: The Dialectic between Conflict and Good Governance - Segun Odunuga::Part 2: Countries in Conflict: A Critical Stocktaking by Country Research Teams::5. Angola - Augusto Eduardo Kambwa, Daniel Mingas Casimiro, Ngongo Joao Pedro and Lucas Bhengui Ngonda::6. Burundi - Joseph Gahama, S. Makoroka, C. Nditije, P. Ntahombaye and O. Sindayizeruka::7. Liberia - Al-Hassan Conteh, Joseph S. Guannu, Hall Badio and Klaneh W. Bruce::8. Rwanda - Emmanuel Gassana, Butera Jean-Bosco, Byanafashe Deo and Alice Karelezi::9. Sierra Leone - John Bobor Laggah, Joe A. D. Allie and Roland S. V. Wright::Part 3: Transitions from Conflict to Peace and Good Governance: Lessons of Experience::10. Angola: Seeking to Remedy the Limitations and Bias in Media and Scholarly Coverage - Reginald Herbold Green::11. The Experience of Northern Mali::A: History of the Armed Conflict - Bintou Sanan Kouca and Sicave Ag. Ecawell::B: Democracy and the Peace Process - Aghatam Alhassane::12. Nigeria: A Victim of its Own Success - Segun Odunuga::13. Understanding Conflict in Somali and Somaliland - Ismail Ahmed::14. Towards a Macroeconomic Framework for Somaliland's Post-war Rehabilitation and Reconstuction - Reginald Herbold Green::15. The Role of Non-African NGOs in African Conflicts: The Case of Rwanda - Ian Linden::16. Consolidating Peace through Governance and Regional Cooperation: The Liberian Experience - Anthony Barclay::Part 4: Strategising the Way Forward::16. Which Way Forward? A Panel Dicussion::A: Panel Discussions: Adebayo Adedeji Emmanuel Gasana, Al-Hassan Conteh, Joseph Gahama , Trevor Gordon-Somers::B: Conclusions and Recommendations on Managing African Conflicts in their Political, Economic and Social Dimensions - Working Group I::C: An Ongoing Research Programme directed at Comprehending and Mastering Conflict - Working Group II::Appendices::1. Guidelines for the preparation of the national baseline papers::2. The Final Communique of the Regional Consultative Workshop on Comprehending and Mastering African Conflicts