Contemporary Africa
African Conflicts: Their Causes and
Their Political and Social Environment
Abdalla Bujra
DPMF Occasional Paper, No. 4
Development Policy
Management Forum
Addis Ababa
© 2002 by Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF)
All rights reserved. Published 2002
Printed in Ethiopia
Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF)
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel. 251-1-515410/ (DL) 443197
Fax: 251-1-515410
Email: dpmf@uneca.org
Website: http://www.dpmf.org
All views expressed in the Occasional Papers are those of the authors and not necessarily those of DPMF.
African Conflicts: Their Causes and Their Political and Social Environment
Abdalla Bujra∗
1. Introduction
During the four decades between the 1960s and the 1990s, there have been about 80 violent changes of governments (Adedeji 1999, 3) in the 48 subSaharan African countries. During the same period many of these countries also experienced different types of civil strife, conflicts, and wars. At the beginning of the new millennium, there were 18 countries facing armed rebellion, 11 facing severe political crises (Adedeji 1999, 5), and 19 enjoying more or less various states of stable political condition. And some of the countries in the last two categories have only recently moved from the first category. A UNDP representative paints the picture in these terms:
A snapshot of explosive conflict in today’s Africa presents a worrying picture: of Eritrea and Ethiopia; of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe,
Sudan, the last with the longest-running civil war on the continent; of Sierra
Leone with gruesome atrocities against civilians; of Somalia, Burundi, Guinea
Bissau and Lesotho, the latter reeling from South Africa’s recent intervention”
(Gordon-Summers 1999, 328).
Somewhere it is added wryly that this is not the picture of an African
Renaissance.
This picture of a continent in turmoil raises several
Their Political and Social Environment
Abdalla Bujra
DPMF Occasional Paper, No. 4
Development Policy
Management Forum
Addis Ababa
© 2002 by Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF)
All rights reserved. Published 2002
Printed in Ethiopia
Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF)
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel. 251-1-515410/ (DL) 443197
Fax: 251-1-515410
Email: dpmf@uneca.org
Website: http://www.dpmf.org
All views expressed in the Occasional Papers are those of the authors and not necessarily those of DPMF.
African Conflicts: Their Causes and Their Political and Social Environment
Abdalla Bujra∗
1. Introduction
During the four decades between the 1960s and the 1990s, there have been about 80 violent changes of governments (Adedeji 1999, 3) in the 48 subSaharan African countries. During the same period many of these countries also experienced different types of civil strife, conflicts, and wars. At the beginning of the new millennium, there were 18 countries facing armed rebellion, 11 facing severe political crises (Adedeji 1999, 5), and 19 enjoying more or less various states of stable political condition. And some of the countries in the last two categories have only recently moved from the first category. A UNDP representative paints the picture in these terms:
A snapshot of explosive conflict in today’s Africa presents a worrying picture: of Eritrea and Ethiopia; of the DRC, Rwanda, Uganda, Namibia, Zimbabwe,
Sudan, the last with the longest-running civil war on the continent; of Sierra
Leone with gruesome atrocities against civilians; of Somalia, Burundi, Guinea
Bissau and Lesotho, the latter reeling from South Africa’s recent intervention”
(Gordon-Summers 1999, 328).
Somewhere it is added wryly that this is not the picture of an African
Renaissance.
This picture of a continent in turmoil raises several
References: Adedeji, Adebayo, ed. 1999. Comprehending and mastering African conflicts. Collier, Paul, and Hans Binswanger. 1999. Ethnic loyalties, state formation and conflict Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). 2000. Aide-Memoire: Ad Hoc Group Meeting on the Economics of Civil Conflicts in Africa Gordon-Summers, Trevor. 1999. In Comprehending and mastering African conflicts, edited by Adebayo Adedeji Idowu, William O. 1999. Citizenship, alienation and conflicts in Nigeria. Africa Development XXIV, nos Kazah-Toure, Toure. 1999. The political economy of ethnic conflicts and governance in Southern Kaduna Meles Zenawi (FDRE Prime Minister). 1999. Opening statement to the All-Africa Conference on African Principles of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, Ogachi, Oanda. 1999. Economic reform, political liberalization and ethnic conflict in Kenya Salim, Salim Ahmed. 1999. Localising outbreaks: The role of regional organisation in preventive action Sundberg, Anne. 1999. Class and ethnicity in the struggle for power – The failure of democratization in the Congo-Brazzaville United Nations. 1999. The causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and sustainable development in Africa