Civil war

Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflicts in Southern Africa

Upphovspersoner:	Themnér, Anders | Swain, Ashok | Bali Swain, Ranjula | Krampe, Florian
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala centrum för hållbar utveckling, Uppsala universitet | Nationalekonomiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet | Pretoria ; Uppsala : Global Crisis Solutions ; Uppsala centrum för hållbar utveckling
År:	2011
Ämnesord:	Climate change, Civil war, conflicts, Shared water resources, Environmental management, Economic implications, Southern Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambezi River, Political science, Statsvetenskap

This study aims to identify regions in the Zambezi River Basin in Southern Africa that are prone to risk of violent conflicts (collective violence, popular unrest) induced by climatic changes/variability. The Zambezi River is 575 kilometres long and the basin covers eight countries: Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. Besides the ecological impact, the study argues that socio-economic and political problems are disproportionately multiplied by climate change/variability. Climate change/variability amplifies stresses on the socio-political fabric because it affects the governance of resources, and hence, is linked to the weakened mitigation and adaptation capacity of societies, that are already facing economic challenges (rising food prices, etc.). Society becomes highly vulnerable to climate induced conflicts when it suffers from poor central leadership, weak institutions and polarized social identities. Taking all these factors into consideration, this study identifies Bulawayo/Matableleland-North in Zimbabwe and the Zambezia Province in Mozambique as the most likely regions to experience climate induced conflicts in the near future. The reasons for arriving at this conclusion are: a) Climate change/variability will have a significant impact on these two regions; due to increasing water scarcity in Bulawayo/Matabeleland-North; and intensified flooding, sea-level rise, and costal erosion in the Zambezia Province. b) Due to climate change/variability, agricultural production in these two regions will become highly volatile, leading to severe food insecurity. c) Both regions are suffering from low quality political governance, having unscrupulous elites, weak institutions, and polarized social identities.

Why Humanitarian Aid in Darfur is not a Practice of the ‘Responsibility to Protect’

Upphovsperson:	Okeke, Jide
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2011
Ämnesord:	Sudan, Darfur, conflicts, Civil war, Humanitarian assistance, Emergency relief, Foreign intervention, Government policy, international law, Foreign aid, Aid evaluation, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The Discussion Paper provides a compelling critique of the ‘new humanitarianism, ’particularly the ways in which leading donor states seek to incorporate humanitarian assistance and protection into the toolbox of political intervention in other countries. Drawing upon the history of humanitarianism and its origins in an ethos of neutrality, impartiality and non-violence, the author shows how since the end of the Cold War, and increasingly since 9/11, the ‘new’ form of internationational humanitarianism has become deeply politicised and has taken on human rights, strategic-security, liberal and developmental agendas as defined by donor states. The paper frames the critique of linking R2P to humanitarian protection values in the context of the new humanitarianism and the pursuit of the foreign policies of hegemonic states. It therefore provides a critical perspective on the politics of humanitarian aid in Darfur, and opens up a new basis for an alternative discourse on international humanitarian intervention and its connection with the politics of global powers in African conflict arenas. This paper is an important resource for scholars, civil society activists and policy practitioners with a keen interest in international humanitarian aid, international humanitarian law, conflict, peace and security in Africa.

Writers, writing on conflict and wars in Africa

Medarbetare:	Ndibe, Okey | Hove, Chenjerai
Utgivare:	London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers Ltd. and Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	literature, Novels, Authors, Artists, Culture, conflicts, Civil war, politics, Criticism, Africa, Litteraturvetenskap

Many African countries are caught up in perennial or recurrent political conflicts that often culminate in devastating wars. These flaring conflicts and wars create harrowing economic hardships, dire refugee problems, and sustain a sense of despair in such countries. By their nature, these conflicts and wars affect writers in profound and sometimes paradoxical ways. On the one hand, literature—whether fiction, poetry, drama, or even memoirs—is animated by conflict. On the other hand, the sense of dislocation as well as the humanitarian crises unleashed by wars and other kinds of conflicts also constitute grave impediments to artistic exploration and literary expression.  Writers and artists are frequently in the frontline of resistance to the kinds of injustices and abuses that precipitate wars and conflicts. Consequently, they are often detained, exiled, and even killed either by agents of state terror or by one faction or another in the tussle for state control.  Writers, Writing Conflicts and Wars in Africa is a collection of testimonies by various writers and scholars who have experienced, or explored, the continent’s conflicts and woes, including how the disruptions shape artistic and literary production.  The book is divided into two broad categories: in one, several writers speak directly, and with rich anecdotal details about the impact wars and conflicts have had in the formation of their experience and work; in the second, a number of scholars articulate how particular writers have assimilated the horrors of wars and conflicts in their literary creations.  The result is an invaluable harvest of reflections and perspectives that open the window into an essential, but until now sadly unexplored, facet of the cultural and political experience of African writers.  The broad scope of this collection—covering Darfur, the Congolese crisis, Biafra, Zimbabwe, South Africa, among others—is complemented by a certain buoyancy of spirit that runs through most of the essays and anecdotes.

Young female fighters in African wars : conflict and its consequences

Upphovspersoner:	Utas, Mats | Persson, Mariam | Coulter, Chris
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2008
Ämnesord:	Civil war, Armed forces, Guerrillas, Females, women's participation, gender roles, Government programmes, Disarmament, Social implications, Survival strategies, Demobilization, Post-conflict reconstruction, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP

In the numerous armed conflicts that are tearing the African continent apart, young women are participants and carry guns alongside their male comrades-in-arms. Challenging the stereotype of women in African wars as victims only, this issue of the Nordic Africa Institute Policy Dialogues shows how in modern African wars women have often been as active as men. Female fighters are victimized, yet they are not mere victims. Girls and young women who volunteer to fight often possess quite considerable strength and independence. Programmes for disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating former fighters must be based on better understanding of the range of women's roles and experiences in war and post-war settings in order to act in a gender-sensitive way and to empower this group of women in the aftermath of war.

Sexual abuse survivors and the complex of traditional healing : (G)local prospects in the aftermath of an African war

Upphovsperson:	Utas, Mats
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Civil war, sexual abuse, Women, victims, Humanitarian assistance, Traditional medicine, healing, Post-conflict reconstruction, Reconciliation, Sierra Leone, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

In its efforts to assist post-conflict societies in africa the international aid community has acitvely promoted projects of psycho-social healing among people traumatized during wars and violent conflict. To a large degree these projects have been established in the tradtion of Western psychology. More recently, however, it has been realized in order to help survivors of war effectivley it is necessary to adapt projects and enhance “local” psycho-social healing. This policy report locates the structures – with local legitimacy – that are available to young people who experienced sexual abuse during the Sierra Leone civil war (1991–2002). To this end, this booklet discusses a healing complex that comprises a number of overlapping actors, including herbalists, Zoe Mammies (heads of the female secret societies), Mori-men (Muslim healers); Karamokos (Muslim teachers) and Christian pastors. CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2. Scope of the study 2.1 Methods 2.2 Research ethichs 3. Limitations of the study 4. War-related sexual abuse 4.1 Quantitative findings 4.2 Qualitative findings 4.3 Turning a page? Sexual abuse in post-war reality 5. Variations of traditional healing 5.1 Notes on mental illness in Sierra Leone 5.2 The healing complex6. Traditional healing of sexual abuse 6.1 From the girls’ and young women’s perspective 6.2 The herbalist 6.3 The Karamoko and the Mori-man 6.4 The Soweh mammy and female herbalist (Kuntumoi musu) 6.5 Cleansing the bush 6.6 The pastor 6.7 Talking trauma – notes on counselling 7. Findings and recommendations 7.1 Social approaches towards the sexually abused 7.2 Girls’ and young women’s practices related totraditional healing 7.3 Findings on traditional healers 7.4 Recommendations Appendices

Somalia : a nation without a state

Medarbetare:	Booth, Charlotte | Norberg, Carin
Utgivare:	Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2008
Ämnesord:	Somalia, Nation-building, Civil war, conflicts, Democratization, Foreign intervention, Peacekeeping, Political crisis, political history, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

Report from four public seminars on the conflict in Somalia, held during October and November 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden with Nuruddin Farah, Somali Novelist, Roland Marchal, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre d’Études et de Recherches Internationales, Paris, Asha Hagi, member of the Somalia Transitional Federal Parliament and civil society activist, Jens Odlander, Swedish Ambassador for the Somali Peace Process, Shane Quinn, Programme officer at the Life and Peace Institute, Sweden, and Sahra Bargadle and Hayan Ismail from the swedish-somali Diaspora. Marika Fahlén, Special Advisor for the Horn of Africa at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs acted as moderator for the panel discussion.The seminars were jointly organized by the Life and Peace Institute, The Nordic Africa Institute and ABF Stockholm.

Perspectives on Côte d'Ivoire : between political breakdown and post-conflict peace

Upphovsperson:	Obi, Cyril
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	Civil war, conflicts, political development, Economic conditions, Peaceful coexistence, Peace building, Post-conflict reconstruction, Citizenship, Côte d'Ivoire, Political science, Statsvetenskap

The three articles in this Discussion Paper explore different perspectives to the complex causes of the civil war that broke out in Côte d’Ivoire in September 2002. They are written against the background of the signing of yet another peace agreement between the Ivorian government and the former rebel New Forces (NF) in March 2007. This volume also provides a context where the prospects for post-conflict peace, national reconciliation and democracy in Côte d’Ivoire could be critically analysed.

The roots of the military-political crises in Côte d'Ivoire

Upphovsperson:	Akindès, Francis
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2004
Ämnesord:	Citizenship, Civil war, Coup d'état, Ethnicity, Front Populaire Ivorien, Houphouetism, political development, Rassemblement de Républicains, Côte d'Ivoire, Political science, Statsvetenskap

With the coup d’etat of 24 December 1999 and the politico-military conflict that started on 19 September 2002, Côte d’Ivoire broke with its tradition of political stability, which had served as a model in the West African sub-region. It is now facing an unprecedented crisis that is not only jeopardising the continuity of the state, but has also introduced a culture of violence into the society.This study has three objectives. The primary one is to understand the nature of this socio-political crisis, and what is at stake in it. Secondly, the study examines the issue of ivoirité. Finally, it explores the escalation of violence in this socio-political crisis and the catalogue of justifications for that violence.It is argued that the recurrence of military coups d’etat in Côte d’Ivoire signifies the delegitimisation of the modes of regulation built on the tontine system, and calls for a renewal of the political grammar and socio-political regulatory modalities around integrating principles that have yet to be devised. CONTENT Introduction CHAPTER 1. The Three Parameters of the Houphouët Boigny Compromise Deliberate and centralised openness policy to the outside world Philosophy of the “peanut roasters” Paternalistic management of social diversity CHAPTER 2. Houphouetism Shows Signs of Wear and Tear under Democratisation Confronting the issues: the political class and the criteria for political representation and legitimacy “Ivoirité” under Bédié, or the selective function of an ideology General Gueï’s variable-geometry Houphouetism The RDR, or Houphouetism the wrong way round The FPI, or the theoretical expression radical schism Immigration and its politicisation CHAPTER 3. The Problematic of “Ivoirité” and the Meaning of History in Côte d’Ivoire The social and political construction of “Ivoirité” Ideological justification Political justification Economic justification The constitution and ethno-nationalism Military coups d’état as therapy for “Ivoirité”? CHAPTER 4. The Course of History, or the Need for the Invention of Another Social Contract Alassane Dramane Ouattarra (ADO): symbol of the reality underlying the question of being a national An alternative to “slice” citizenship Bibliography

Eritrea : a dream deferred

Upphovsperson:	Kibreab, Gaim
Utgivare:	Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | London : James Currey; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2009
Ämnesord:	Eritrea, Post-independence, national liberation movements, Nation-building, Economic conditions, political development, Civil war, Human rights violations, Social change, Political science, Statsvetenskap

Eritrean independence under the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (now the People's Front for Democracy and Justice) became an international cause celebre during the 1980s. Eritrea was the first African nation to gain independence in the post-colonial period and appeared to be opening a new and progressive path in African politics. But the promise of the revolution was soon betrayed by the outbreak of war with Ethiopia, the PFDJ's increasingly repressive domestic policies, its mismanagement of the country's economy, and its hostile relations with its neighbours.The PFDJ government dismantled existing formal and informal institutions, crippled the private sector, banned private newspapers, civil and political society organisations, expelled international NGOs and aid agencies when over two-thirds of the population were dependent on food aid, detained without trial journalists, thousands of dissidents, and former leaders of the liberation struggle, and turned national service from an instrument of nation building and national integration into an instrument of open-ended forced labour.In this well-researched first account of post-independence Eritrea, Gaim Kibreab gives a detailed and critical analysis of how things went woefully wrong and how the former 'liberators' turned into oppressors with no respect for the rule of law, human rights and religious freedom. CONTENT 1  Introduction 2  The Broken Promises, Demand for Change & Violation of Human Rights 3  Associational Life in Independent Eritrea 4  Towards an Explanation 5  The Demise of the Private Sector 6  PFDJ's Dominance of the Economy & the Consequences 7  Freedom of Association, Political Stability & Institutions 8  Shattered Promises: In Lieu of a Conclusion

Mapping Darfur

Medarbetare:	Rosquist, Catrin | Norberg, Carin
Utgivare:	Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År:	2007
Ämnesord:	Sudan, Darfur., Civil war, ethnic conflicts, Dispute settlement, Peace Agreement, International cooperation, Conference reports, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning

The Darfur Peace Agreement was signed on 5 May 2006 in Abuja, Nigeria. It has not brought safety to the people of Darfur. The humanitarian crisis continues to be deeply worrying despite aspirations to achieve improved conditions for the suffering population of Darfur. The report Mapping Darfur is published one year after the peace agreement was signed. It is based on a series of seminars during February and March 2007 organised by the Nordic Africa Institute, the Life and Peace Institute and ABF Stockholm. The key intention was to increase knowledge and good understanding of the underlying causes of the crisis in Darfur through contributions from different actors and observers, such as academia, politicians and humanitarian aid workers.

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