Search

A conference paper about the regional strategies for the prevention, management and resolution of conflict in Africa is presented. It examines the preparedness of certain African regional actors to protect displaced persons in times of conflict and prescribes formulas to strengthen their capabilities. The author highlights the important role of these African regional actors in protecting the rights of displaced persons but asserts that they need to develop and institute new mechanisms and legal instruments as well as to strengthen those that pre-exist.

The paper underscores the nature of conflict and examines ethnic and communal conflicts in Nigeria. It proposes a mechanism for resolving ethnic conflicts, which melds the theory of conflict, conflict resolution, and peace-building with traditional African values. It also highlights the importance of empowering local community leaders with appropriate skills in conflict prevention, management, and resolution without recourse to external intervention. Given that the abandonment of ‘utility-laden’ traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution for foreign models mostly gave rise to the myriads of avoidable violent conflicts all over Africa, it becomes a desideratum to revive and promote hitherto traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution in Nigeria. The paper adopts the historical and analytical method of research deploying secondary data to achieve its aim. The paper in its little form contributes to the trajectory of alternative conflict resolution process of ethnic and community conflicts in Nigeria, which serves as a possible model for other African nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African Union (AU) and a number of sub-regional institutions have demonstrated the will and capacity to play a leading role in maintaining peace and security on the African continent. However, despite several successes, Africa has not been able to achieve its objective of Silencing the Guns by 2020. One of the factors that hinder the effectiveness of the AU and its partners is that its conflict prevention and conflict management methodologies are outdated. They rely on a linear causal theory of change and predesigned templates that have now proven to be ineffective in Africa and elsewhere. This paper introduces a new approach - Adaptive Peacebuilding - and explores its policy, management and operational implications for the AU and its partners. The paper explains the theoretical foundation of the adaptive approach, considers its key features and then discusses its practical application. The paper concludes with recommendations for how the AU and its partners can integrate an adaptive approach in the assessment, analysis, management, coordination and evaluation of its conflict prevention and conflict management missions and related efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic and environmental structures of countries are greatly impacted by domestic and foreign conflicts. To promote sustainable development, it is crucial to understand the spatial impact of these conflicts on the ecological footprint of a region. With a focus on Middle Eastern and African countries, this paper investigates the impact of such conflicts on their environments, taking into consideration the unique spatial features of their ecological footprints. Using a spatial econometric model, the study assesses the contributions of ecological footprint determinants, particularly internal and external conflict indicators, across 46 Middle Eastern and African countries from 2001 to 2019. The results indicate that internal conflict can lead to increased pressure on natural resources and ecological systems in neighboring countries, while energy use and economic growth impose a significant ecological burden both domestically and abroad. While urbanization and resource rents were found to reduce the ecological footprint, trade openness was found to be nonsignificant. Conflicts such as war, foreign pressure, civil war, and civil disorder were found to have a significant negative impact on the environment, suggesting that reducing these conflicts would improve environmental circumstances. The findings highlight the need for conflict resolution measures to achieve a sustainable environment in the Middle Eastern and African regions and have implications for other countries facing similar issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose an enterprise resource planning (ERP) implementation model based on the agency theory and the Delone and McLean information systems (IS) success model. This paper answers two major research questions: (i) how does client–consultant interaction affect the outcome of ERP implementation projects; and (ii) how can this interaction be managed effectively to ensure successful project outcomes? Design/methodology/approach: An electronic banking institution in Africa was used to conduct a case study research and examine the validity of the proposed conceptual framework. Findings: Based on the constructs of the conceptual framework, the study found that client–consultant relationships/interactions mediate the effect of human, organizational, and technological critical success factors (CSFs) on information quality, service quality, and information quality. Agency conflicts in client–consultant relationships can be managed using outcome incentive-based contracts and a conflict management committee. Research limitations/implications: This is a single case study research. Thus, despite its analytical validity and generalizability, there is a need for more studies on the statistical validity of the model in other contexts. Practical implications: This paper provides practical information needed to manage conflicts between clients and consultants, as well as factors that must be considered in order to keep the interest of both parties aligned. Originality/value: No research has been conducted on how to manage client–consultant interactions and related conflicts in ERP implementation projects. This study fills this gap using a well-established theoretical foundation to propose a conceptual framework that would guide and drive further discussions on the topic. This is also one of the few studies in the context of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

THIS PAPER EXAMINES THE RELEVANCE OF AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY IN THE SUSTENANCE OF PEACE IN AFRICA. DUE TO THE PERCEIVED "FETISH" NATURE OF AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION BY THE ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN RELIGIONS, AFRICANS IN AFRICA TEND TO HAVE ACCEPTED THE LATTER. YET CONFLICTS PERVADE THESE "NEW" RELIGIONS. IRONICALLY THE AFRICANS IN DIASPORA SEEM TO HAVE FOUND RELEVANCE IN AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY EMBEDDED IN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL RELIGION DUE TO THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THEIR RELIGIOUS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the management of ethnic conflicts in Nigeria and South Africa with a view to underscoring the intricacies involved in the management of deep rooted and complex conflict in Africa. The paper proposes, among other things, that ethnic conflicts in Africa are fallout of colonialism. The piece relies mainly on secondary sources. It adopts thematic approach to elucidate the salient points. The choice of thematic approach was to ensure a discernible flow of discourse. The study reveals that the effects of colonialism are a common factor in ethnic conflict in Africa. It is the contention in this paper that ethnic conflicts in Africa are products of insecurity, instability and poverty manifesting in hunger and starvation. Where corrupt and rapacious political institutions found their ways to power in African countries, they served as catalysts to ethnic conflicts. The position of this paper therefore is that to effectively manage ethnic conflict in Africa is to address the causative factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a model that can be adopted to enhance the role of libraries in the resolution of conflicts and promotion of peace for the establishment and sustenance of democracy in Africa in a sustainable manner. The paper highlights the devastating effects of conflicts between 1990 and 2007 with Africa having the highest percentage of 80% per square area. To assess and understand the roles of Libraries in peace and conflict resolution, related studies/papers were reviewed. The review revealed that the Libraries are repositories of current and relevant resources that are required for peace and conflict resolution. This includes research findings, reports, historical accounts and other non print materials. It also exposed the non-implementation of recommendations and ideas in the papers. It goes further to put forth a Practical Action Plan (PAP) for utilizing libraries as the nucleus for disseminating information on resolving conflicts and promoting peace in communities. The PAP provides a schematic representation of the Community Library, Peace, Education and Development Center (CLiPED) Center Interactive and Information Flow Model. It also outlines a framework for the implementation and sustainability of the PAP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the challenges confronting local governance institutions on peace building strategies using Southwestern Nigeria as a reference point. It puts the challenges of peace building strageies in institutional perspectives and intervening tendencies of foreign agencies in Africa. It examines Lederach's structural framework under the theoretical discourse as an underlying assumption for peace building challenges. However, primary data were collected and analysed for the empirical insight using Relative Impact Index and content analysis methods. This paper reveals that lack of shared vision (RII = 3.49), finances (RII = 3.34), poor information communication network (RII = 3.26), and deficiency of institutional arrangement (RII = 3.24) are the foremost challenges facing local governance institutions on peace building in South western Nigeria; with greater emphasis on poor value system and non-compliance with traditional customs. It therefore concludes that the peace building strategies are susceptible to unfavourable conditions by activities of governance institutions at the local level. It thus recommends that formal and informal institutions at the local level should share a common vision which will serve as a driving force for the pursuit of peace building agenda in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• There are complexities of Indigeneity at different spatial scales. • Indigenous claims have become important for natural resource management. • Indigeneity has been increasing resource-related conflicts in many parts of Africa. • Climate change is intensifying human mobility and resource-related conflicts. There is considerable evidence in the literature of the nature of Indigeneity in Africa, yet few studies explore the complexity of definitions of the concept at different spatial scales. This paper builds on existing scholarship by problematizing 'Indigeneity' at both regional and national scales through a critical analysis and synthesis of contemporary literature across sub-Saharan Africa, in association with a specific case study from northern Ghana. In generating the review, the concomitant implications for natural resource management and associated conflicts are analyzed. The paper argues that the definitions and conceptualizations of Indigeneity are heterogeneous with numerous ambiguities and complexities at regional and national scales, which have contemporary implications for both acute and prolonged issues of natural resource allocation and management. Claims of Indigeneity in relation to climate change-driven migration and settlement processes are facilitating support for resource access and utilization, but also generating a myriad of problems linked to overlapping and disputed claims. The ambiguity of claims of Indigeneity by vulnerable individuals and groups also has latent implications. Political misunderstandings or conflicts over natural resources are becoming more widespread across Africa during a period of environmental change. Understanding the complexity of Indigeneity at both regional and national scales will provide important opportunities to inform effective policy for the sustainable and equitable distribution and management of resources in sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of studies have attempted to evaluate the costs of conflict, but few have evaluated the impact of conflict on country growth. An even more limited number of studies have attempted to evaluate the spillover effects of conflict, with those that have finding clear negative effects on primary neighbors and then positive secondary neighbor effects. There are, however, a number of issues with these studies and this paper updates and develops their analysis using a dynamic panel approach. It confirms the negative sign and magnitude of the previous findings for the host country and primary neighbors, but finds no evidence of any positive or negative effects of conflict on secondary neighbors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conflict & Communication is the property of Verlag Irena Regener and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The traditional methods of African conflict resolution have long existed and are deeply rooted in the customs and traditions of the peoples of Africa. These methods are geared towards maintaining harmonious and peaceful coexistence in the community. Colonialism introduced the modern justice system, which dominated and destabilised the efficacy of the traditional methods. Coupled with the growing population and complexity of conflicts in the present societies, the system faces challenges in resolving conflicts. This study investigated whether the traditional methods still have relevance in addressing land and marital conflicts which are prominent in African societies specifically amongst ethnic groups such as the Igbos and Yorubas in Nigeria, the Batswanas and Zulus in South Africa, the Pokots and Marakwets in Kenya, and the Wimbums of the North West Region in Cameroon and reveals that, despite the challenges, the methods are still widely used. The traditional methods are non-adversarial in nature, cost-effective and accessible to everyone in the community. It should also be noted that the modern system has failed to obliterate animosity between disputing parties, both during and after litigation. This paper argues that even though the two systems have limitations, both are valid. The systems should be modified and harmonised through training so that they complement each other to improve the justice system in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the dominant livestock systems of Sahelian countries herds have to move across territories. Their mobility is often a source of conflict with farmers in the areas crossed, and helps spread diseases such as Rift Valley Fever. Knowledge of the routes followed by herds is therefore core to guiding the implementation of preventive and control measures for transboundary animal diseases, land use planning and conflict management. However, the lack of quantitative data on livestock movements, together with the high temporal and spatial variability of herd movements, has so far hampered the production of fine resolution maps of animal movements. This paper proposes a general framework for mapping potential paths for livestock movements and identifying areas of high animal passage potential for those movements. The method consists in combining the information contained in livestock mobility networks with landscape connectivity, based on different mobility conductance layers. We illustrate our approach with a livestock mobility network in Senegal and Mauritania in the 2014 dry and wet seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using as a point of departure the observations contained in the document ‘Our Common Interest. Report of the Commission for Africa (March 2005)’, Chapter 5: “Countries with economies dependent on one or a few primary commodities, particularly high‐value resources such as oil and other minerals, are often poor, have weak and less accountable governance systems, and are more vulnerable to violent conflict and economic shocks”, the article sets out to explore the broader trends and specific conditions which might help explain why mining activities in Africa may well be at present and increasingly in the future, linked to issues of security. To this end the paper explores various hypotheses which have been put forward such as the following: In an attempt to understand what is driving present trends, by broadening the perspective adopted and including an analysis of the reform process of which mining policies are a part, the paper echoes the conclusions of the Commission to the effect that ‘Responsibility for resolving conflict in Africa should lie primarily with Africans, but there is much more the developed world can do to strengthen conflict prevention’ and to that end, the articles seeks to identify specific measures of policy reform which might substantiate this observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I build upon the conflict management, civil war, and bargaining literatures to develop and test a theoretical model that links openings for diplomacy to where civil war battles occur and how these locations change over time. I argue that the locations and movements of civil war battles provide information to both governments and rebels that influences their willingness to engage in mediation and negotiation. By identifying how civil war battles influence the willingness of warring sides to participate in diplomacy, I suggest that it is possible to identify other windows of opportunity for effective conflict management beyond waiting for a conflict to evolve into a hurting stalemate. The results of my analysis of 46 African civil conflicts shows that battle locations, battle velocity, and battle dispersion each influence the occurrence and outcomes of peace talks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A widely held belief within policy and practice contends that rough terrain and other physical obstacles to power projection hinder public surveillance, lower counterinsurgency capability, and generally constitute an important facilitator of rebellion. Likewise, sociocultural exclusion and alienation from the core are widely assumed to increase latent conflict risk through their influence on identity formation and perception of collective grievances. However, there is no scientific consensus on the empirical strength or significance of such a relationship, and many quantitative studies fail to find a robust link between a country's geographical or ethno-demographic characteristics and its estimated conflict risk. This paper represents a first comprehensive evaluation of how physical and sociocultural inaccessibility relate to contemporary civil wars. Drawing on recent advances in geographic information systems and georeferenced indicators of terrain, settlement patterns, ethno-political status, and armed conflict, we put the purported causal relationship to empirical test. A statistical analysis of civil-conflict events across post- Cold War Africa gives considerable support to the proposed theoretical framework, revealing that the various dimensions of inaccessibility all exert significant and substantive effects on local conflict risk. We find weaker evidence for the notion of substitutability; the inaccessibility indicators largely retain their individual effects when included in the same regression model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This data feature introduces a new dataset to study peace processes to end organized armed violence in Africa: the African Peace Processes (APP) dataset. The APP dataset includes observations on both mediated and unmediated rounds of negotiations in state-based and non-state conflicts in Africa between 1989 and 2019 and builds on conflict data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP). The APP dataset covers peacemaking efforts in both active and inactive conflicts. Moreover, the start and end month and year of each observation are specified, giving researchers some flexibility with regard to the temporal unit of analysis they use. In addition to discussing the rationale behind the creation of the APP dataset, we explain the data collection process and show some patterns based on the data. We also illustrate how the data could be used by looking at the association between the no. of peacekeepers deployed and the onset of mediated negotiations in intrastate and non-state conflicts. We find that high no. of peacekeepers are associated with a higher likelihood of negotiations in non-state conflicts, but not in intrastate conflicts. A plausible explanation for this finding is that security concerns play a more important role in the decision to initiate negotiations in non-state conflicts than in intrastate conflicts. Our short analysis thus illustrates the value of having data on both intrastate and non-state conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper looked at the performance of the African Union (AU), in the resolution of intrastate conflicts in Africa. The study necessitated a revisit to the Libyan crisis. It is acknowledged in the study that conflicts pervade human relations. In the case of Africa, the study further shows that Africa has never experienced a lasting peace. The theoretical framework of games theory has been adopted in the study, to describe the character of African conflicts and to proffer solutions for the minimization of the level and number of such intrastate conflicts. The Libyan conflict typified the character of intrastate conflicts in Africa and was used for illustration in the study. The study concluded that the AU has made significant contributions toward the resolution of intrastate conflicts in Africa but there are still shortcomings of the AU and impediments to the efforts of the African Union, toward the resolution of such crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The steps-to-war theory suggests that power politics strategies, such as alliance formation, military buildups, hardliner domestic actors, and aggressive crisis bargaining, often have the unintended consequence of escalating a crisis to war. The theory has gathered extensive empirical support in large-N studies, but only a handful of studies have examined the expectations of the theory as applied to specific regions. This paper questions if the steps-to-war theory can explain wars in a region where one might not expect power politics methods to be in operation. I first test the theory statistically by using a sample of only African dyads and then employ a structured comparison and process-tracing methods to examine the steps taken prior to two African wars, the Ogaden War (1977-1978) and the Ugandan-Tanzanian War (1978-1979). This research is unable to falsify the theory in the Africa region, although the theory does require modifications in that the actions of rebel groups are important in motivating territorial demands and arms acquisitions in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the effect of violent conflicts on the success the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa. It puts emphasis on full-scale armed conflict between state and non-state armed groups within a country, which can include insurrections against a state such as in Darfur, Somalia and Cote d'Ivoire. It acknowledges the fact that the number of conflicts between sovereign states in Africa declined, although conflicts between different groups within the same country is growing due to tensions rooted in inequalities of power aligned with divides along ethnics, religious or racial lines.

Over the last couple of years, 'African ownership' has become a buzzword in many fields. Economic development initiatives like the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) are based on it, partnership agreements like the Joint AU-EU Africa Strategy are built around it and its central concept of Africanisation guides virtually all external relations of the continent. African leaders (rightly) insist on it, international organisations (rightly) preach it and many non-African actors are (unsurprisingly) hiding behind it. The concept of African ownership is so omnipresent today that it is more than surprising that the simple question of who actually owns it has not yet been asked. It is the declared purpose of this paper to disentangle rhetoric from reality and identify the owner as well as the limits of African ownership in the sphere of peace and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The battle for democracy on the African continent has been long and arduous. In many African countries the absence of democracy was first experienced as political authoritarianism, enforced by quickly constituted regimes mostly characterised by their totalitarianism; their intent was to dominate practically the whole lives of their citizens, and not to tolerate any serious opposition to their aims and objectives. Under the pretext of needing to build fledgling nations, or to foster social and economic development, the political powers in charge showed little respect for civil liberties or the right to object. The seriousness of elections and their role in conflicts - and thus conflict resolution - in West Africa, can only be understood against the background of the role of elections as a primary source of conflict within these states. This paper outlines and explores that background. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peace parks are a modern means of conflict resolution through nature conservation. The Great Limpopo Peace Park (GLPP), which spans South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, was established to bring new hope to an area that is infamous for racial and political divisions, civil war and widespread poverty. This paper discusses the impact of international laws governing landmines, the current priority choices of the countries involved, and the situation in the two mineaffected countries: Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Minefields and politics are interrelated, and have an impact at local, national and international level. Using the GLPP as a case study, the article argues that although they have been presented as excellent examples of integrated biodiversity conservation and socio-economic development in developing countries, peace parks will not fulfil their main objective of promoting an image of peace in the aftermath of conflict without addressing landmine contamination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal conflicts in the Great Lakes Region are never the result of internal factors only, but rather a confluence of other factors, most of which bear a relationship to the 'shadow economic networks' of individuals or institutions connected to the international systems of trade and finance. These networks foster corruption, elite rivalry and ethnic hatred because they survive on the indiscriminate plundering of natural resources. But since they function outside domestic and international legal regimes, they suffer little or no sanctions at all. This paper explores the limitations of international legal regimes in this regard and suggests some improvements that could enhance their conflict-reduction function in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Larteh in Akwapim, a hill Guan community in the Eastern Region of present-day Ghana, is taken as an empirical case study to discuss the socio-political uses of traditional oral literature in contemporary Africa. The present paper primarily focuses on an identification and analysis of the functions and role which traditional oral literature plays in the contemporary politics of Larteh in Akwapim. Oral literature in the traditional mould is shown to be functionally relevant in the basically political processes of identity for,nation and preservation, interest articulation, political communication, conflict resolution, social control, and political socialization in the rural, multi-lingual social settings offered by Larteh communities both at home in Larteh and in their migrant settlements in different clusters spread over southern Ghana. Copious materials drawn from both primary and secondary sources are used to achieve the paper's objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efforts to bring peace and reconstruction to the Central African region have been fashioned by contemporary conflict resolution models that have a standard formula of peace negotiations, with a trajectory of ceasefire agreements, transitional governments, demilitarization, constitutional reform and ending with democratic elections. Local dynamics and the historical and multifaceted nature of the conflicts are rarely addressed. Furthermore, participants in the peace process are restricted to representatives of political parties, the state and rebel movements, to the exclusion of civil society. Using as examples the conflicts and peace processes in three Great Lakes countries—Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo—the paper contends that contemporary global frameworks for peacemaking and peace building that rest on the acceptance of neoliberal political and economic models cannot lay the foundations for the conditions necessary for sustainable peace. This necessitates the utilisation of a more inclusive concept of peace, the starting point of which has to be the emancipation of African humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Africa is host to the vast majority (and the most deadly) of conflicts in the world, it would appear that there is a distinct lack of genuine interest in African affairs shown by the UN Security Council and its key members. This paper proposes a 10-level scale of response system to measure the seriousness of the Council in dealing with conflicts. By comparing the Council response with the size and severity of each individual conflict, the scale attempts to assess the Council performance in the fulfilment of its duty to restore international peace and security. The results show that Africa has been (and remains) marginalized in the Council work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an anthropological review of the social processes and the themes of conflict and conflict resolutions taken by the Manchester School in South-Central Africa after the World War II. Anthropologist released different papers that tackled the different aspects of the school which included the social field, situational analysis, perpetual succession, intercalary roles, situational selection, cross-cutting ties, the dominant cleavage, redressive ritual, repetitive and changing social systems, processional form, processual change and much of the rhetoric studied has been concerned in disputes and court arguments.

• Eliminating intrastate conflict in 2022 would lift 148.2 million (range 50.7 - 186.6) from extreme poverty by 2030. • Eliminating intrastate conflict in 2022 would lift 164.9 million (range: 4.4 to 376.5) from extreme poverty by 2050. • The economic cost of intrastate conflict from 2022 forward is $28.1 trillion by 2030 and $292.4 trillion by 2050. • Conflict-attributable poor are concentrated in 10 countries representing 87.3% of conflict-attributable poor in 2030. • Eliminating civil war does not eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 (SDG1) in isolation of other interventions. Intrastate conflict generally undermines human development but its effect on global poverty across different income thresholds remains poorly understood. This paper analyzes how many people will live in poverty due to intrastate civil conflict in 2030, 2050, and 2070 using the International Futures model and shared socioeconomic pathways, forecasting 12 scenarios for 179 countries. A baseline conflict scenario leads to an additional 148.2 million (range: 50.7 to 186.0 million) people living in extreme poverty (<$1.90 per day) due to conflict by 2030 compared with a scenario where conflict is eliminated starting in 2022. These conflict-attributable poor represent 20.1% of the population in extreme poverty at that time, with the majority living in South Asia followed by Africa. By 2050 the population living in conflict-attributable poverty increases to 164.9 million (range: 4.4 to 376.5 million), representing 32.7% of the total extremely poor population at that time with the majority living in Africa. While future conflict will be responsible for hundreds of millions of people living in poverty, its elimination is not a panacea for achieving development targets: even in a scenario with no intrastate conflict from 2022 to 2030 the population living in extreme poverty is projected to be 6.9%, well above the target threshold of 3% for achieving the first Sustainable Development Goal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great deal of research has shown that current conflicts are in fact recurrences of past conflicts. While some studies focused on underlying causes of these conflicts, political leaders' inclusiveness as influence had been neglected. This article addresses this gap by exploring the role of inclusive leadership in the context of post-conflict political transitions in East and Southern Africa. Based on semi-structured interviews with former Presidents, Prime Ministers and experts in the fields of conflict resolution, and peacekeeping, we found that leaders' inclusiveness play critical roles in preventing conflict recurrence and maintaining social cohesion. We identified specific barriers and enablers to this role in developing a conceptual framework of leader inclusiveness, inclusive practices, barriers and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Local communities living on the edge of protected areas often experience negative impacts on their livelihoods due to wildlife. These situations threaten support for long-term conservation of wildlife and wild habitats so a key for conservation sustainability should be based on implementing socially accepted and economically sustainable mitigation practices. For successful design and implementation of mitigation strategies, it is vital to engage local communities and understand their preferences and previous experiences. In this study, we present a choice experiment as a tool to analyze local farmer preferences for the most common farm-based solutions to reduce African elephant crop damage. Results show that there are significant differences among responses triggered by farmers' previous experience with elephants and socioeconomic situation, with a marked spatial distribution among respondents. This methodology, based on a choice modeling approach considering the differential availability of resources and previous experience with elephants or other wildlife, is highly applicable, with small changes in other areas where wildlife competes with local communities for resources. This approach also represents a suitable instrument for identifying stakeholders' preferences in each specific context. Local communities surrounding wildlife corridors and natural reserves often face challenges related to human–wildlife coexistence. To mitigate the challenges and ensure the long-term conservation of wildlife, it is important to engage local communities in the design of conservation strategies. By conducting 480 face-to-face interviews in 30 villages along and adjacent to the Selous-Niassa Wildlife Corridor (Tanzania), we quantified farmers' preferences for farm-based measures to mitigate African elephant damage using choice experiments. Results show that farmers considered no action the least preferred option, revealing that they are open to trying different measures. The most preferred management strategy matched with the preferences of wildlife rangers in the area, suggesting low concern about the potential conflicts between stakeholders. However, a latent class model suggests that there are significant differences among responses triggered by farmers' previous experience with elephants, the intensity of the elephant damage, and the socioeconomic situation of the farmer. Results show a marked spatial distribution among respondents, highlighting the benefits of zone management as conflicts were found to be highly context dependent. Understanding the human dimension of conservation is essential for the successful planification and implementation of conservation strategies. Therefore, the development and broad utilization of methodologies to gather specific context information should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democracy assistance, including the promotion of electoral security, is often a central component of contemporary peacekeeping operations. Preventing violence during post-conflict elections is critical for the war-to-democracy transition. Yet little is known about the role of peacekeepers in this effort. To fill this gap, this study provides the first comprehensive sub-national study of peacekeeping effectiveness in reducing the risk of electoral violence. It combines geo-referenced data on peacekeeping deployment across all multidimensional peacekeeping missions in Africa over the past two decades with fine-grained data on electoral violence. The analysis finds a negative association between peacekeeping presence and the risk of electoral violence. The relationship is of a similar magnitude in the pre- and post-election periods. However, the association is more strongly negative for violence perpetrated by non-state actors compared to violence perpetrated by government-affiliated actors. Analyses using two-way fixed-effects models and matching mitigate potential selection biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the meaning of peace and human security from the perspective of the individual -- the presumed referent point of security -- and examines responses to armed conflict, a leading source of insecurity for African peoples. It identifies inherent flaws in approaches to conflict in Africa and looks to a different field -- that of leadership -- for a more effective formula for peacemaking. In the absence of a framework that can effectively end the cycle of conflict relapse in Africa, the paper argues that an alternative framing of leadership is needed; and that alternative leadership approaches to dealing with conflict and insecurity offer a chance for stable peace and human security. It suggests that an expanded perspective on leadership provides a basis for exploring interventions that can potentially alter peacemaking discourses as well as the terrain in which peacemaking takes place. The article therefore asks what a focus on the individual as the referent point of security means if and when viewed from the perspective of a collection of individuals. In this regard, it presents emerging perspectives from a study of young Africans on leadership programmes in a classroom setting and attempts to extrapolate them to wider societal settings. It then explores how a different perspective of leadership might serve as a facilitator of peace and human security in Africa, drawing examples from past and on-going situations of armed conflict in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phenomenon of farmer-herders conflict across West Africa has prompted management strategies by several governments across the subcontinent. One of the conflict resolution mechanisms has been the policy of expulsion, which the Ghanaian state adopted as a response to incessant conflict between the settled agriculturalists and migrating Fulani herders. This paper focuses on migration and conflict as well as the intrigues and politics of expulsion of Fulani pastoralist from Agogo town in Ghana since 2009. There are multiple factors responsible for the migration of Fulani herders to Agogo area that are linked to climate change. We also examine the social and political factors triggering the expulsion as well as agitation to expel the Fulani. Counter to this we examine the Fulani reactions towards this development. Through this we also critique the policy of expulsion as a means of dealing with the pastoralist question. By means of a critical assessment of the conflict we offer strategies for policy and reconciliation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]