Border conflicts in africa pdf

Maritime boundaries delimitation and dispute resolution in africa. After providing an overview of the current state of eastern african borders the article points out that the escalating transboundary resource disputes are due to the. Map of the border conflicts in northern namibia 1900. Bbc news africa border dispute an african colonial legacy. The border demarcation of africa in 1885 by colonial powers, was a catalyst to establishing the sources of recent border conflicts that distort social cohesion, thereby resulting in xenophobia and intolerance between the host communities and the. The african union border governance strategy aubgs is an instrument developed to use borders as vectors to promote peace, security and stability, and to improve and accelerate integration through effective governance of borders while facilitating easy movement of people, goods, services and capital among au member states.

While africa has had its share of interstate wars, the majority of its conflicts were internal, and these internal conflicts appear to be increasing, as elsewhere. Pdf this article examines the essence and basis of boundary disputes in east africa. Nov 24, 2008 my colleague dennis king just sent me update on the humanitarian information units hiu project, africa. Arbitrary lines drawn on maps notably by colonial powers sitting at the conference of berlin in 1884 and 1885 have left countries with meaningless boundaries with no rhyme or reason in the geographical, topographical or ethnic character of particular regions. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa science. Libyas border control is weak and fragmented, allowing markets in arms, people, and the trafficking of illicit goods to flourish, with detrimental consequences for the maghreb and sahel cole, 2012. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Into mid2011, the worlds worst food crisis is being felt in east africa, in ethiopia, somalia and kenya. See list of territorial disputes for those that do not involve fighting.

Invasion of ancient egypt by the kingdom of kush and the land of punt 17th century bc. In addition, connecting between people and establishing dialogue is the key to influencing relationships. Despite the decisions of the oau and its successor, the. The prevention and resolution of border related disputes and the promotion of regional and continental integration, which constitutes a tool in the structural prevention of conflicts in africa. By way of a casestudy approach, guided by the theory. Keywords africa, kenya, somalia, boundaries, maritime boundaries, border conflicts, oil, indian ocean, international court of justice feedback. The list includes only those fought because of border disputes. First, the report includes a concise summary of the presentations that stimulated the substantive discussion among participants. Pdf the european union and border conflicts download full.

Before africa was divided into tribes that it was the way they knew the borders of each tribes. Regional variations in three principal conflict trends are then presented for the central, east, west, and southern regions of africa. In africa, the extent of challenges to territorial integrity varies signi. The conflicts were both causes and effects of the escalation of contending. Second, there persisted violent conflicts between various ethnic groups over a wide range of issues. Resources and border disputes in eastern africa wafula okumu senior research fellow, institute for security studies, pretoria, south africa received 28 september 2009. To talk merely of african conflicts as a whole, as if there was a definite common pattern to all conflicting situations in subsaharan africa, is already a gross generalisation. To cite this article okumu, wafula2010 resources and border disputes in eastern africa, journal of eastern african studies, 4. African union au, border conflicts became a source of instability and conflict.

A united and integrated africa with peaceful, open and prosperous borders. Maritime boundaries delimitation and dispute resolution in africa theodore okonkwo department of public law, faculty of law, university of port harcourt, portharcourt, nigeria abstract africas borders are bestride with many challenges ranging from religious and terrorist movements to cattle rustling, military conflicts to human trafficking. However, only one conflict was ranked as having a high impact on the united states. Examples include the conflicts in the democratic republic of congo drc, angola and sierra leone.

Eight macrocomparative perspectives on conflict trends in africa are charted in order to establish a fairly comprehensive picture and understanding of the background of the situation in the region in mid2005. Nov 17, 2017 the lack of economic, social, and political development and limited upward mobility expose the borderland communities to a number of human security problems, including widespread poverty, lack of infrastructure, limited education, and cross border intergroup conflicts. North africa was a crucial combat zone during both wars. Chapter 11 postconflict demarcation of african boundaries. Jul 16, 2014 history of africa borders after slavery and how, when, who created the borders of africa countries. Conflicts to watch in 2020 council on foreign relations. Despite current borders of africa countries people still devided mentally into tribes. Colonial production, extraverted and coercive as it already was, was ruthlessly reorganized to produce record amounts of primary agricultural and mineral commodities for the imperial armies and economies. The nature of track three diplomacy and its influence on. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethnolinguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including us for their strategic interest over the region. A tragic factor in this is that the civilian populations bear the brunt of the casualties in such conflicts, estimated at some 8090 per cent of total casualties across the world.

The causes of return to conflict and the geopolitical. These subregional conflicts constitute an unstable zone of crossborder insecurity and informal networks that link the two largely distinct security complexes in the horn of africa and the arabian peninsula. Their resolution and implications for human rights and peace. Abstract this article argues that there is a likelihood of interstate disputes in eastern africa as natural wealth is discovered in the borderlands. Sep 27, 2014 this article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Conflicts in the horn of africa have been occurring since the 17th century bce. The basis of understanding conflict, security and collective wellbeing of people includes relationships that dominate interactions of two or more entities in contact with one another. Many researchers have focused on the role colonialism has played in causing interstate border disputes in africa. Africas international borders as potential sources of conflict and. The european union and african border conflicts university of. Instead of the usual depiction of conflicts as countrywide and defined by national boundaries, this map displays distinct conflictaffected areas in africa as subnational and transnational pockets of insecurity, violence, and armed aggression. Angola, which has seen an estimated 500,000 people killed since 1989 and an estimated 3 million refugees. In this rapidly changing world it is essential to understand that conflicts are unique and understanding a conflict is the first step on the path to addressing it. African union and conflict resolution in africa article pdf available in mediterranean journal of social sciences 527.

The manifestations and dynamics of the potential sources of africas future borderrelated conflicts will be presented before. Furthermore, in a 2007 study, anyu claims that a majority of the 103 ethnic and interstate conflicts in. That why some of conflicts in some africa countries are. Delimitation and demarcation of boundaries in africa. Some examples of civil rights conflicts in africa are the struggle against apartheid in south africa, the struggle for majority rule in rhodesia now zimbabwe, the tuareg uprising in mali, where the group found itself virtually estranged from national life, and the algerian berbers fighting against the ruling arab class. The following is a list of border conflicts between two or more countries. The horn of africa includes the nations of djibouti, eritrea, ethiopia and somalia. It is also being torn apart due to resources such as diamonds and offshore oil, with. Africa has had border disputes through the millennia.

Oct 10, 2002 the continent was bequeathed 103 border disputes by its former colonial rulers. Luckily, there are examples of good practice to deal with problems. The management of border disputes in african regional sub. Mar 02, 2015 the horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. The horn of africa, as described before, has a variety of borders, border issues, and border conflicts, which can be grouped into three categories. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 41 that determine relationships. The geopolitics of insecurity in the horn of africa and. Understanding the eruption of conflict between neighbouring states in the era of globalisation where, conflicts are often. Border conflicts under the category of border conflicts, two borders stand out. Conflict management in africa for the security council, of approaching conflicts in africa from a regional perspective, with an emphasis on west africa and the great lakes region.

But the continent has its own peculiar problems, most because of colonialism. The management patterns of border disputes in west africa and the horn of africa are almost diametrically. Regional approaches to conflict management in africa. Africas border disputes are set to rise but there are. Presumably then, the conflicts are a unique mix of these similarities and differences. Pdf resources and border disputes in eastern africa. After providing an overview of the current state of eastern african borders the article points out that the escalating transboundary resource disputes are due to the colonial boundarymaking errors, undefined and unmarked borders, poor or lack. Africa and globalization, dollars and sense magazine. At the peak of the anticolonial struggle in africa in the. Contemporary spatial research on civil conflict in africa has largely focused on borders and the state periphery as spaces of limited political and economic.

Africas international borders as potential sources of con. Jul 14, 2015 africa has had border disputes through the millennia. The horn of africa is a region well known in african politics of being a volatile, hostile and poor place due to numerous conflicts, wars, and colonisations. Crisis mapping africas crossborder conflicts irevolutions. There are three interesting localities along the northern border of namibia which were not clearly defined by the contracts and which, in the period 1887 to 1914, created many border conflicts and political negotiations between germany and portugal. Read conflicts in africaintroduction to learn more. There have recently been numerous civil wars and conflicts going in africa, some of which are still going on, including. Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as. According to mchale 2009, engaging with people ensures the stability and security of the world.