Al-Shabaab has begun to mobilize support by taking advantage of political and socio-economic vulnerabilities of the youth in Somalia's neighboring countries. After two and a half decades of counterproductive military interventions, peacebuilding processes may need to be reconsidered and instead focus on inclusive ideas that do not overlook the importance of the youth.
Essays
Essays present critical analysis and debate on a pressing issue in African peacebuilding.
Essays
Mapping Reconciliation Processes in Africa: A Project Set to Fail or A Possible Gateway to Further Research?
by Cori Wielenga
Reconciliation has become an important term in the national discourse, particularly within Africa. Yet what reconciliation actually refers to, how it should be implemented, and how to assess its level of effectiveness remains a challenge for many States. This piece explores the creation of a database to map reconciliation processes across the African continent, questioning whether such a project would be destined to fail, or a gateway to further research.
Essays
Mediating in Madagascar: Bypassing the AU Ban on Coup Legitimization
by Laurie Nathan
A great political problem on the African continent is the scourge of coups have taken place over the past half century, one being in Madagascar in 2009. To combat these coups, the African Union has put in place a firm policy commitment to reject coups and other unconstitutional changes of government. While at first glance, the AU's ban on coup legitimization is a decisive rejection of the military overthrow of governments and, thus, a compelling deterrent to future coups, it becomes clear upon further investigation that the ban itself is incompatible with mediation, which the AU invariably undertakes to restore constitutional order.
Essays
Why Peacebuilding in Eastern Congo Often Goes Wrong, and Why It Is So Hard to Get Right
by Christoph Vogel and Joschka Havenith
Why is building peace in a context such as the Congolese conflicts so hard? Despite many efforts, including the presence of the largest United Nations peacekeeping mission, international treaties, and peace talks, peacebuilding in eastern Congo has become a difficult task with a myriad of complexities. Havenith and Vogel seek to understand these challenges.
Essays
Al-Shabaab Terror in Kenya: Implications for Peace and Security in the Region
by Shadrack W. Nasong'o
With the terrorist group Al-Shabaab coming forward and taking responsibility for the recent Westgate Attack in Nairobi, the debate over the implications for security across the region has been rejuvenated. Shadrack W. Nasong'o's analyzes these through several lenses: doubts about the efficiency of the Kenyan intelligence and security agencies, Kenya's continued military presence in Somalia, the recruitment of non-Somali East Africans among Al-Shabaab, and the desperate nature of this specific attack in light of Al-Shabaab's own defeat within Somalia.
Essays
The Westgate Mall Siege: Reassessing Kenya’s Security Architecture
by Awino Okech
The Westgate siege affirms an observation made by many concerned Kenyans over the years, and more fervently since March: that there is a nexus between the high levels of insecurity in the country and the operational weaknesses of our security forces. This paper looks inward at the state of Kenya's security system and lessons that can be learned from the Westgate siege.
Conflict
Transnational Threats to Peace in Africa
by Prosper Addo
This article illustrates the scope and magnitude of threats within Africa by focusing on drug- trafficking, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALW), and terrorism and will offer suggestions for effectively combating them and promoting peace and security within the continent.
Conflict
Recurrent Crisis in the Eastern DRC: Petty Imperialism and Reconceptualizing the Peace Process
by Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo
The eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the richest regions in the country, with diverse mineral deposits and vast arable lands. Even more than the rest of the country, however, this region has been ravaged by widespread war, sexual brutality against girls and women, theft of natural resources, and ongoing […]
Essays
Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission: The Importance of Documentation in Postwar Education and Reconciliation
by Proscovia Svärd
Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRCs) are temporarily established to investigate and document war atrocities committed against civilian populations They promote reconciliation between erstwhile enemies, as well as victims and perpetrators, and make recommendations to the post-conflict governments that have supported their establishment on how to avoid any recurrence of abuses. Despite the engagement of national […]
Conflict
Congolese Crisis and Demographic Problems in the African Great Lakes
by Guy Aundu Matsanza
The frequent violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is part of a series of interlinked, complex conflicts encompassing the African Great Lakes region. The DRC, Rwanda, Burundi, and Uganda all appear to be connected by geographical and historical factors and the legacies of decades of conflict interspersed by episodes of peace. Conflict in […]