Causes of civil wars in africa

University of cape coast institute for development studies pds 804s sociology and economics of. These conflicts are referred to as diamond wars, said felix downesthomas who has just returned from a visit to subsaharan africa. Since 1960, almost all civil wars have been in developing countries, whose economic growth and development are apt to be impeded by resulting human capital losses, reduced investments, infrastructure destruction, and marketactivity disruptions, stated todd sandler. Main causes and consequences the angolas civil war was an armed conflict that continued in the african nation for more than 26 years from 1975 to 2002, with brief periods of fragile peace. Using recently developed models of the overall incidence of civil wars in 161 countries between 1960 and 1999, we draw lessons with special reference to africa, showing that the relatively higher incidence of war in africa is not due to the ethnolinguistic fragmentation of its. The incidence of war has been rising since 1950, with most wars being within states. And there are not too many routes to future conflict, which is good. Civilians, rather than soldiers, are increasingly targeted. Deep political and economic development failures not tribalism or ethnic hatred are the root causes of africa s problems. Introduction this paper investigates whether civil wars have economic causes. Conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. It was this confrontation that helped propel several of sudans other peripheral regions into conflict with its political center. Spatial effects of civil wars in africa and around the world. President ellen johnson sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of economic community of west african states ecowas and a number of former heads of state attending ecowas international conference in monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socioeconomic and political.

And now that our historical knowledge of these causes have to compete with the. Introduction to african politics ub12002602 what are the main causes of civil wars in africa. Yes, nearly all africa nations have cases of civil unrest, conflict, and wars, which are caused by so many factors and indignations, some of. Jan 03, 2019 nigeria civil war effects causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.

It was this confrontation that helped propel several of sudans other peripheral regions into conflict with its. They study the impact on civil conflict of all major minerals in african countries at a spatial resolution of 0. However, careful analysis of the determinants of civil wars in africa and a systematic comparison to other regions points to a more complex picture. This civil war resulted in over one million dead ziliotto par 10. These conflicts are often hinged on several factors including poverty, human rights violations, bad governance and corruption, ethnic. The economic causes and consequences of civil wars and. The african nations can live in peace and harmony too like any other country of the world.

Liberia is no different, president sirleaf emphasized. Over the last 50 years, more than 20 countries on the. While slavery is generally cited as the main cause for the war, other political and cultural differences between the north and the south certainly contributed. Mar 01, 2018 a racebased civil war has been promised by black politicians in south africa against the persecuted white minority. Causes, challenges and prospects the advent of intrastate conflicts or new wars in west africa has brought many of its economies to the brink of collapse, creating humanitarian casualties and concerns. Afghanistan 4 america 9 anthropology 15 argumentative 15 business 5 comparative 9 critique 15 current affairs 8 economics 3 education 3. Causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects information. Why were europeans interested in africa in the 16th and 17th centuries. Wars, or even the civil wars and atrocities in revolutionary russia and china. Examples include the conflicts in the democratic republic of congo drc, angola and sierra leone. Causes of civil wars in africa essays and articles. However, charges of genocide are occurring now civil wars in africa par 5. Contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity.

Wars often have cultural dimensions related to ethnicity or religion, but there are invariably underlying economic causes too. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries. United nations ongoing civil wars in africa particularly in angola and the democratic republic of congo were being fought mainly because of the pursuit for. Africa has a high prevalence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the ethnic diversity of its countries. There is a very simple reason why some of africas bloodiest, most brutal wars never seem to end. Africa has a high prevalence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the. Listed below are the current wars and conflicts in the continent of africa.

Wars are a major cause of poverty, underdevelopment, and ill health in poor countries. There are many causes for the business cycle in south africa. University of cape coast institute for development studies pds 804s sociology and economics of conflicts topic. Liberia civil war civil war in liberia causes of the. List of modern conflicts in north africa wikipedia. As for sudan, it was a civil war caused by lasting cultural problems from the 1800s. Suidlanders is preparing vital necessities for civilian noncombatants. Diamonds cause of african civil wars global policy forum. They are waged by youthful combatants with no military training, little discipline and in most cases, have ill defined chains of command. There have been many civil wars in africa, caused by european empirebuilding in the nineteenth century. Feb 09, 2002 wars are a major cause of poverty, underdevelopment, and ill health in poor countries. Investigating the causes of civil wars in subsaharan africa case.

Africa asia central america europe middle east north. Pdf causes of civil war in africa gavin raymond academia. Causes and solutions the civil war in africa from that of ivory coast in 2004, that of chad in 2010 to that of libya 2011 are classical examples of the countless number of civil war in africa since 1962. Into mid2011, the worlds worst food crisis is being felt in east africa, in ethiopia, somalia and kenya. Recent studies have pointed to various causes of civil war e. Jan 28, 2014 this paper posits that the poor understanding of the fundamental causes of west africas violent conflicts and civil strife would likely cause the subregion to continue experiencing and suffering the brunt of these violent wars. The causes of conflicts in africa are many and they frequently recur, including major causes of potential tensions and conflicts, which could perhaps be summarised and classified below. The worst bloodletting in twentiethcentury africa occurred during the colonial period in king leopolds congo free state white 2003.

Violent conflicts plaguing africa today are mostly civil wars with. Read conflicts in africaintroduction to learn more. Environmental education resources to commemorate earth days 50th anniversary. Civil wars in africa mcgillqueens university press. The history of west africa is a series of conflicts.

Political deprivation, such as colonial subordination or lack of political rights, provides another plausible motivation for resorting to violence. Whilst some schools of thought argue that poverty is the cause of many civil wars in subsaharan africa, the worlds most poor region, other schools argue that poverty is also a consequence of wars, hence the twoway relationship between poverty and war. The economic causes and consequences of civil wars and unrest in africa. In the past 30 years africa has been especially badly affected by war see fig. Boko haram insurgency in nigeria 2009presentthe islamic fundamentalist group boko haram is waging a war against the nigerian government and against the christian community in nigeria. In all cases conflicts are listed by total deaths, including subconflicts specified below. Evaristus a 2019 investigating the causes of civil wars in subsaharan africa case study. The primary causes of civil war are political, not environmental, and although environmental conditions may change with future warming, general correlates of conflicts and wars are likely to prevail. This theory rejects the idea that civil wars are caused by ethnic, religious or other sociodemographic factors. They study the impact on civil conflict of all major minerals in african countries at a. Peace or truce is a masterful analytical history of the longrunning war between northern and southern sudan.

Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of. Civil wars and civil conflicts are frequent as well as persistent. Nov 08, 2015 as brandon li answered, at the moment africa is not suffering much civil conflict. Contrary to popular belief, africa s civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Ken grundy, department of political science, case western reserve university civil wars in africa offers some unique insights into.

Many conflicts after 1945 first emerged as groups sought to achieve independence for areas under colonial rule. It has been said that the 21st century will be recorded as the bloodiest of all centuries to date. Now that we have gone through some causes of civil wars in africa, it can be confidently said that these civil wars are not inevitable. Main causes and consequences the angolas civil war was an armed conflict that continued in the african nation for more than 26 years from 1975 to 2002, with brief periods of. This is a list of conflicts in africa arranged by country, both on the continent and associated islands, including wars between african nations, civil wars, and wars involving nonafrican nations that took place within africa. This is not to underestimate the immense impact of violent con. Fearon and laitin looked at 127 civil wars from 1945 to 1999, most often in sub saharan africa and asia. Revolutions, civil wars, poverty is on the rise, and government corruption.

The causes of poverty in the developing world essay bartleby. Sep 27, 2014 this article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. In contrast to the conventional view that violence in africa is a product of the legacy of arbitrary colonial borders that bundled rival tribes together, young blames recent african civil wars. Some econometric results 7 also, rebellions may occur when forgone income is unusually low and this can be proxied by mean income per capita, male secondary schooling, and the growth rate of the economy in the preceding period representing new income opportunities. Deep political and economic development failures not tribalism or ethnic hatred are the root causes of africas problems. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries ncbi. Economic and political causes of civil wars in africa. Civil wars, as experienced on the continent of africa, have immensely destabilized the development of the secondlargest continent in the world. Causes of civil war in asia and subsaharan africa 161 sandler 2002, we compare asia and ssa, two regions most afflicted by civil war, in terms of the extent to which their proneness to civil war is a function of economic development, ethnic and religious fractionalization, domestic governance, and trade openness. Explanations of particular civil wars often invoke such causes.

One of the most influential studies on civil war is that by collier and hoeffler. So far, about two million people have died from this internal war. A racebased civil war has been promised by black politicians in south africa against the persecuted white minority. They argue that the causes for such conflicts are primarily economic and not grievance based. Civil wars in africa is an excellent book that makes a solid contribution to scholarship and to the literature on civil wars and conflict resolution. This article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Major root causes include political, economic, and social inequalities. There are many causes that led to the american civil war. The root causes of the civil war in liberia can be traced back to the founding of the country in 1847, after the american colonization society had started to ship back freed slaves from the caribbean and america to the west coast of africa in 1820.

The record is clear that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socioeconomic and political inequity and grinding poverty. Civil war political causes of civil war britannica. A collection of case studies of nine african countries, civil wars in africa provides a comparative perspective on the causes of civil war and the processes by which internal conflict may be resolved or averted. Evaristus a 2019 investigating the causes of civil wars in sub saharan africa case study. Why have west african states been so prone to conflict over the past generation.

What are the causes of civil war in many african countries. Africaa land of beautiful and fascinating sceneries, a land of rich culture, a land where wild and untamed animals reside, a land blessed with natural resources but when someone talks about africa the first thing comes in mind is a battlefield, killing of innocent people, poverty, lack of. Because wars recur, have similar foundational causes. The colonial masters gave african countries their independence.

Nigeria civil war effects causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects. This inference seems selfevident to many, given that. Aug, 2006 in contrast to the conventional view that violence in africa is a product of the legacy of arbitrary colonial borders that bundled rival tribes together, young blames recent african civil wars. They needed a labor force in the new lands, so they engaged in the slave trade. The advent of intrastate conflicts or new wars in west africa has brought many. The impact of civil wars on poverty in subsaharan africa. The major causes of war in nigeria is traced down to the attempted secessions of the southern region or province of nigeria and also religious, economic, ethnic, and cultural tensions between the hausas of the northern region of nigeria and the igbos of the eastern part of nigeria. The foremost thing is the scrutiny of government by citizens. The indochina wars 194675 and the algerian war of independence 195462. This rate is a small fraction of the millions killed in the second sudanese civil war and cambodian civil war, for example, but excludes several highly publicized conflicts, such as the troubles of northern ireland and the struggle of the african national congress in apartheidera south africa. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national violence, and global conflicts in which africa was a theatre of war. However, the most violent war of the post world war ii period was indeed a civil war in afric. Violent conflicts plaguing africa today are mostly civil wars with spillover impacts on neighbouring countries. As brandon li answered, at the moment africa is not suffering much civil conflict.