Conflict within and between militant groups in the Arogbo-Ijaw area of Ondo State in Nigeria are the result of struggles for supremacy. Such violent communal conflict has emerged as one of the features of local communities in Nigeria’s oil producing states. Although most studies of oil-related conflict in the Niger Delta focus on violence in […]
Essays
Essays present critical analysis and debate on a pressing issue in African peacebuilding.
Examining the Role of Youth in the Maï-Maï Yakutumba Insurgency
by Justin B. MunyakaziYouth in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)—as everywhere else—are the main participants in violent conflict. They constitute the vast majority of the national army and the plethora of armed militias in Eastern DRC. One of the most recent self-styled ‘resistance’ movements attracting hundreds of young fighters to join its ranks is Maï-Maï Yakutumba. […]
Study on African Mediation Highlights the Significance of the Mandate
by Laurie NathanThis article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Laurie Nathan, University of Pretoria Every mediation to resolve a major conflict in Africa is based on a mandate that shapes the process and outcome of peacemaking. This is true of mediations in Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Sudan, Zimbabwe and many other countries. […]
Development and Statebuilding at the Cost of Peacebuilding? The Case of the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia
by Fana GebresenbetBuilding state institutions, providing services, and promoting economic development in conflict-affected regions are usually considered integral to peacebuilding. This essay interrogates that position by drawing on empirical evidence from fieldwork conducted in Ethiopia’s lower Omo Valley—a marginalized region inhabited by agro-pastoralist groups such as the Mursi and Mela (Bodi) of Salamago district. There are several […]
Challenges to the African Union’s Security Engagement in North Africa and the Sahel
by Mohammed Ahmed GainThe persistence of insecurity and instability in parts of North Africa and the Sahel belt has benefited the numerous armed non-state actors in the region including separatist groups, terrorists, and transnational criminal networks engaged in the smuggling of drugs, weapons, and people. The African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), the African Union’s (AU) set of […]
Silencing the Guns by 2020: How Realistic is this Timeline?
by David OmozuafohThis essay previously appeared in the first issue of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) newsletter, “Governance Link” (November-December 2017). The APRM was established in 2003 by the African Union in the framework of the implementation of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Member countries use the APRM to self–monitor all aspects of their governance and […]
Moving the Battlefields: Foreign Jurisdictions and Environmental Justice in Nigeria
by Ebunoluwa O. PopoolaThis is a cross-post from Items, a Social Science Research Council digital forum that renews and reimagines the Council’s former newsletter as a space for engagement with our work and with the social sciences more generally. Ebunoluwa O. Popoola was a Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa fellow in 2012. After six decades of oil production […]
Ending Impunity in the Central African Republic Still a Bridge Too Far
by Fonteh Akum and Simon MassockAt the end of July 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in the Central African Republic (CAR) had reached 600,000. The number of refugees, most of whom are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Cameroon, had reached 480,000. This recent […]
A New Political Landscape of Petro-Insurgency in the Niger Delta
by Elias CoursonThe Niger Delta has repeatedly produced natural resources that give the region a significant role in the global economy – from the slave trade in the sixteenth century to the palm oil trade in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and most recently, petroleum extraction since the mid-twentieth century. In Nigeria oil and gas, account for […]
The Media and Fresh Presidential Elections in Kenya: Some Emerging Issues
by Fredrick OgengaThe place of the media in society in the run-up of events leading to the election, particularly how the election is represented to the citizens, will have far-reaching implications for post-election peace and security in Kenya. Current reports in Kenya’s mainstream media on the recent elections seem to lean towards the ruling coalition. Following the […]