Proportion of countries with an active civil war or civil conflict, 19602006 sources. Explaining reoccurring civil wars, journal of peace. Redescribing transnational conflict in africa the journal. Civil wars and economic growth in subsaharan africa article pdf available in journal of african economies 142. Draft chapter for the oxford handbook of the economics of peace and conflict. However, careful analysis of the determinants of civil wars in africa and a systematic. Forthcoming in the handbook on the political economy of war, edited by chris coyne, elgar publishing. Understanding the causes and the nature of xenophobia in. Over the last 50 years, more than 20 countries on the south of the sahara have experienced at least, one civil war. Economic and political causes of civil wars in africa. 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. Contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Sep 14, 2016 understanding the roots of conflict in south sudan.
Civil war and violence in africa stanford university political science 146s winter 2008 instructor. In short, civil wars are caused by greed, not grievance. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national violence riots, massacres, etc. Civil wars are those internal conflictsthat count more than 1,000 battle deaths in a single year. Understanding the roots of conflict in south sudan council.
Investigating the causes of civil wars in subsaharan africa case. 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. We thank cepr for allowing us to organize a workshop on conflict in switzerland in the months before the deadline for this chapter. What are the trends in armed conflicts, and what do they mean. Violent conflicts plaguing africa today are mostly civil wars with spillover. Conflict resolution and peace buildind in africa as a process. In short, we prefer a narrow definition and a broad analysis. Data based on ucdpprio armed conflictdatabase gleditsch et al.
External intervention and the duration of civil wars. The two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier and anke hoeffler, whose model of civil war onset has sparked much discussion on the relationship between conflict and development in what came to be known as the greed versus grievance debate. Understanding the causes of conflicts in africa africa has a high prevalence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the ethnic diversity of its. Aug 22, 2005 the two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier and anke hoeffler, whose model of civil war onset has sparked much discussion on the relationship between conflict and development in what came to be known as the greed versus grievance debate.
Understanding the roots of conflict in south sudan. A civil war, also known as an intrastate war in polemology, is a war between organized groups within the same state or country. The nature and impact of civil wars suggests that these conflicts reflect and are also a driving force for major societal change. Angola, which has seen an estimated 500,000 people killed since 1989 and an estimated 3 million refugees. Contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic and. It is also being torn apart due to resources such as diamonds and offshore oil, with various factions fighting for. We limit our examples of civil wars and how to analyze them to africa only because this region is our area of primary specialization. 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. This is the lowest war incidence in about 50 years. New war theory offers an alternative explanation for the factors driving civil war in. Contrary to popular belief, africa s civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Understanding and preventing violent conflict article pdf available in journal of peace research 93 april 2002 with 2,823 reads. Identifying the roots of civil war and understanding the interactions between these. Pdf causes of civil war in africa gavin raymond academia.
Th is religious map of africa is the result of the encounters, over centuries, between the indigenous religions of the continent with the arabs and the eu ropeans. Using recently developed models of the overall incidence of civil wars in 161 countries between 1960 and 1999, we draw. By contrast, the emphasis placed by frances stewart and her associates on the role of economic and political inequalities between groups offers a more nuanced understanding of how civil wars are caused and shaped, an understanding that is better able to take account of the nature of grievances and of the role of abusive governmentaffiliated. Thus, the probability of incidence of civil war is equal to the probability of war onset or initiation plus the probability that a war will last more than one period. A seminal contributor to this literature has been collier, now at. Continuity and change in intrastate conflict argues that the nature of civil war is not fundamentally changing in nature. This inference seems selfevident to many, given that african rebel movements almost always are ethnically.
An emerging literature on contemporary civil wars has used sophisticated econometric evidence to argue that they occur not because of political or socioeconomic grievances, but because of the financial rewards civil war makes available to warlords and their followers. There is a large literature analysing whether dependency on primary commodities makes. For example in somalia, the gnp per capita annual growth rate for the period 196580 was 0. Since world war ii about 16 million people have been killed in civil wars. This is not to underestimate the immense impact of violent con.
The paper seeks to highlight the fundamental flaws in the conception of civil war in the econometric literature this paper is a product of the partnerships, capacity building unit, development economics vice presidency. The two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier. This volume explores the nature of civil war in the modern world and in historical perspective. Civil war and violence in africa syllabus patrick johnston. Understanding and preventing violent conflict ibrahim elbadawi1 and nicholas sambanis world bank contrary to popular belief, africa s civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Using recently developed models of the overall prevalence of civil wars in 161 countries between 19601999, we draw lessons with special reference to africa, showing that the relatively higher prevalence of war in africa is not due to the ethnolinguistic fragmentation of its countries, but. Understanding recent african wars africa cambridge core. Following autocratic regimes and protracted civil wars, more stable societies have emerged in guinea, liberia, niger, and sierra leone. 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. Understanding recent african wars volume 77 issue 3 krijn peters, paul richards. Before tackling conflicts in africa one should first consider conflict in general. Data based on ucdpprio armed conflictdatabase gleditsch.
Independence has been bunched in two big waves, the british and french decolonizations of africa in 196062 and the russian decolonization. Using recently developed models of the overall prevalence of civil wars in 161 countries between 19601999, we draw lessons with special reference. Wars, or even the civil wars and atrocities in revolutionary russia and china. Pdf civil wars and economic growth in subsaharan africa. Rather than pursuing a descriptive understanding of civil wars in africa, we will pursue an analytical, explanatory, and methodological. What are the trends in armed conflicts, and what do they. Civil war center for effective global action university of california.
Founded in 1847 by freed slaves from the united states and the caribbean, it was africas first independent black republic, and people across africa considered it both an inspiration and a beacon of hope. Understanding the causes and the nature of xenophobia in south africa. 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. Understanding west africas infrastructure potential. Understanding the causes of conflicts in africa africa has a high prevalence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the ethnic diversity of its countries. Civil wars represent the principal form of armed conflict since the end of the second world war, and certainly in the contemporary era. Since 1960, almost all civil wars have been in developing countries, whose economic growth and. Our estimation results are presented in table 2, with column 1 as our baseline result. Indeed, african countries remain highly dependent on.
Conflict resolution and peace buildind in africa as a. Traditional religion in african civil wars 17 islam 19. They are based on reactionary rather than progressive motives. We argue that the best and fastest strategy to reduce the incidence of civil war in africa and prevent future civil wars is to institute democratic reforms that effectively manage the challenges facing africas diverse societies. Robert bates, eaton professor of the science of government, harvard university the two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier and anke hoeffler, whose model of civil war onset has sparked much discussion on the relationship between. While africas infrastructure lags well behind that of the rest of the world, with over 30% in dilapidated conditions, there appears to be a renewed enthusiasm among leaders and civil society on the continent to improve the situation. Traditional religion in african civil wars 17 islam 19 th e coming of islam 19 islam versus colonialism 20 th e present appeal of islam 21 islam and civil wars in west africa 23 christianity 2525 christianity and colonialism 25 africanisation of christianity 3030 christianity, armed con.
This inference seems selfevident to many, given that african rebel movements almost always are. Greed and grievance in civil war international affairs. The second event is that war is observed at time t, having been initiated at an earlier period. The two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier and anke hoeffler, whose model of civil war onset has sparked much discussion on the relationship between conflict.
Th e present appeal of islam 21 islam and civil wars in west africa 23 christianity 2525 christianity and colonialism 25 africanisation of christianity 3030 christianity, armed con. Another aspect in understanding the nature of conflict is identification and analysis of causes of conflicts. Regional variations in three principal conflict trends are then presented for the central, east,west, and southern regions of. The worst bloodletting in twentiethcentury africa occurred during the colonial period in king leopolds congo free state white 2003. Understanding africas contemporary conflicts africa portal. In some cases, however, elections have been manipulated to legitimate autocratic regimes or to ensure dynastic successions on the continent. The term is a calque of the latin bellum civile which was used to refer to the various civil wars of the roman republic in the. This paper focuses upon two former british coloniesuganda and sudanto illustrate the contention that civil wars in africa are typically rooted in religioethnic competition and conflict. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national. It has been said that the 21st century will be recorded as the bloodiest of all centuries to date.
In the same table, there was no data for the same variable during the period 19801993. World bank policy research working paper 2433, washington, d. Independence has been bunched in two big waves, the british and french decolonizations of africa in 196062 and the russian decolonization of the early 1990s. Proportion of countries with civil war proportion of countries with civil war or conict figure 2. We are able to show that the relatively high prevalence of civil war in africa is not due to extreme ethnolinguistic fragmentation, but rather to high levels of poverty, heavy dependence on resourcebased primary exports and, especially. Why is there costly violent conflict when most people would be better off by settling. There have recently been numerous civil wars and conflicts going in africa, some of which are still going on, including. Such conflicts are normally exacerbated by group competition for material resources in circumstances of developmental failures and political instability. Despite the end of the cold war, decline in worlds military expenditure milex and reduction in the number of international wars, the intensity and frequency of civil wars in developing countries have increased unabated throughout the 1990s. The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region or to change government policies. Spatial effects of civil wars in africa and around the world.
South sudans civil war is the result of a weakly institutionalized state and may require the african unions intervention to find peace and. Therefore, an approach to understanding civil wars in africa supports the ideals of collier and hoeffler, quinn, hetcher and. Understanding the causes of conflicts in africa africa has a high incidence of civil wars and this is commonly attributed to the ethnic diversity of its countries. Abstract the two volumes of understanding civil war build upon the world banks prior research on conflict and violence, particularly on the work of paul collier and anke hoeffler, whose model of civil war onset has sparked much discussion on the relationship between conflict and development in what came to be known as the greed versus grievance debate. Pdf contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. 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. Understanding and preventing violent conflict ibrahim elbadawi1 and nicholas sambanis world bank contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic. For much of its 164year history, liberia has enjoyed a special status among africas nations.
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