Civil Wars in Africa

Kelechi A. Kalu; George Klay Kieh Jr.

doi:10.5771/9781793649348

Summary

Civil Wars in Africa, edited by Kelechi A. Kalu and George Klay Kieh, Jr., examines civil conflicts throughout various African countries. They argue that civil wars in Africa are by-products of the contradictions and crises engendered by the post-colonial state-building and nation-building projects in Africa. With few exceptions, the post-colonial states in Africa have failed to build societies that invest in the material well-being of their citizens; protect their political, civil, and other rights; promote accountability, transparency, the rule of law, judicial independence, and the holding of free and fair elections; and promote ethnic pluralism, tolerance, mutual respect, and peaceful co-existence, among others. In addition, the contributors show that the post-colonial states in Africa have been ruled by corrupt and autocratic leaders, who are obsessed with the maintenance of state power as the pathway to ensuring the private accumulation of wealth through sundry illegal means, including bribery, extortion, and theft of public funds. In sum, this volume addresses how the failure of the post-colonial African state to shepherd the process of building democratic societies based on the centrality of human security has led to the erosion of the legitimacy of the state and its custodians. Thus, once the contradictions and crises reached their crescendo, these post-colonial societies than implode into civil wars, even at the micro-level.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2022
ISBN-Print: 978-1-7936-4933-1
ISBN-Online: 978-1-7936-4934-8
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 348
Product type: Edited Book

1. Contents No access
2. 1. Figure No access
  2. Tables No access
3. Preface No access
1. 1. Introduction No access
  2. Colonialism and Intrastate Wars in Africa No access
  3. Territorial Imperatives of States and Civil Wars in Africa No access
  4. Effects of Externally Imposed Territorial Boundaries No access
  5. Population Concentration and Civil Conflicts No access
  6. The Focus of the Book and Methodology No access
  7. The Organization of the Book No access
  8. Conclusion No access
  9. Notes No access
  10. References No access
2. 1. Origins of Civil Wars in Africa No access
  2. 1. Structural Explanations of Civil Wars in Africa No access
    2. Modified Structural Realism No access
  3. Conclusion No access
  4. Notes No access
  5. References No access
1. 1. Theoretical Framework No access
  2. Geopolitics: Forcing Civil Wars and Genocides No access
  3. The First Civil War: A Ticking Time Bomb Released, 1961–1966 No access
  4. Tutsi and Hutu Power Struggles: Violent Entanglement No access
  5. 1. International Aid Fueling Micombero’s Dictatorship No access
  6. Third Civil War: UPRONA Government, 1976–1987 No access
  7. Fourth Civil War: UPRONA Tutsi-led Government 1987–1992 No access
  8. Fifth Civil War: UPRONA Weakened—Hutu Dominance 1993–2005 No access
  9. Avoiding a Sixth Civil War: Diplomatic Efforts, 1994–1995 No access
  10. Ethnopolitics and Power Fits of UPRONA No access
  11. The Return of Buyoya in 1996 No access
  12. Multilateral International Diplomatic Involvement No access
  13. The Arusha Negotiations and the Burundi Power-Sharing Government Model, 1998–2004 No access
  14. Ethnic Inclusivity: A Trump Card for CNDD-FDD No access
  15. Conclusion No access
  16. Notes No access
  17. References No access
2. 1. Historical Development No access
  2. The Postcolonial Era: The Ahidjo and Biya Regimes No access
  3. 1. The Dynamics of the Civil War No access
    2. Transitional Justice No access
    3. Imputing a Genocidal Intent? No access
  4. Moving beyond a Conflict-Torn Cameroon: The Need to Shape the Future No access
  5. Conclusion No access
  6. References No access
3. 1. Problematizing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder No access
  2. Methodology No access
  3. The Civil Conflict in Tuobodom No access
  4. Results No access
  5. Discussion No access
  6. Policy Implications No access
  7. Conclusion No access
  8. References No access
4. 1. 1. 1. The Settler Phase No access
      2. The Peripheral Capitalist Phase No access
      3. Portrait No access
      4. The Crises of the State No access
      5. The Cultural Crises No access
      6. The Economic Crises No access
      7. The Political Crises No access
      8. The “Hegemonic Presidency” No access
      9. The Violation of Political Human Rights No access
      10. The Social Crises No access
    2. 1. The Internal Forces No access
      2. The External Forces No access
    3. The End of the First Liberian Civil War No access
  2. 1. 1. Cultural Failure No access
      2. Economic Failure No access
      3. Political Failure No access
      4. The “Hegemonic Presidency” No access
      5. Political Human Rights No access
      6. Security Failure No access
      7. Social Failure No access
      8. Health Care No access
    2. 1. The Internal Forces No access
      2. The External Forces No access
    3. The Termination of the Second Civil War No access
  3. Conclusion No access
  4. Notes No access
  5. References No access
5. 1. Personality Conflicts in Nigerian Politics in the Pre-Independence Era No access
  2. Personality Conflicts in Nigerian Politics in the First Republic, 1960–1966 No access
  3. Personality Conflicts in the Post-January 1966 Military Coup Era No access
  4. Reactions to the Fate of Coup Plotters No access
  5. Personality Conflicts in the Post-July Military Coup Era, July 29, 1966, Coup No access
  6. The Emergence of General Yakubu Gowon as Head of State and the Reactions of Lt. Col. Ojukwu No access
  7. The Gowon-Ojukwu Personality Conflict and the Nigerian Civil War No access
  8. The Creation of Twelve States No access
  9. General Gowon and Lt. Col. Ojukwu’s Ambitions No access
  10. Ojukwu Declaration of the Republic of Biafra No access
  11. Conclusion No access
  12. References No access
6. 1. Civil War in Rwanda and the Theory No access
  2. 1. The Effects of Colonization on Rwanda’s Security Dynamics No access
  3. 1. France’s Overreach in the Conflict No access
    2. France’s Calculations in the War No access
    3. The Ugandan Hand and Invisibility of Great Britain in the War No access
    4. The War, a Skewed International System, More External Actors, and an Arm Race in Rwanda No access
  4. 1. France’s Geopolitical Obduracy and Rwanda’s Misfortunes No access
    2. The British Indirect Hand: Objectives, Success, and the Cost No access
  5. Conclusion No access
  6. Notes No access
  7. References No access
7. 1. Long-Term Historical Antecedents of the Civil War No access
  2. 1. National Sources of Sierra Leone’s Civil War No access
  3. From Structural Violence to Immiseration and Civil Strife No access
  4. Immediate and Precipitating External Causes of War No access
  5. Child Soldiers and Irregular Warfare Element of the War No access
  6. Conclusion No access
  7. References No access
8. 1. The Context No access
  2. 1. The New Wars and Conflicts No access
    2. The Political Economy of War and Vandalism No access
    3. Institutional Failure and Inequalities No access
  3. Conclusion No access
  4. References No access
9. 1. Explaining Postcolonial Armed Violence No access
  2. 1. Military Service and Unity No access
    2. Threat Perceptions No access
  3. 1. Precolonial Decentralization in Acholiland No access
    2. Acholi Overrepresentation in Colonial Armed Forces No access
    3. Ethnicized Threats and Counterthreats No access
  4. The Acholi and Northern Uganda Conflicts No access
  5. Conclusion No access
  6. References No access
1. 1. The Lessons No access
  2. 1. Background No access
    2. The Drivers: Citizens and Leaders No access
    3. State Reconstitution No access
    4. Governance No access
    5. Nationhood No access
    6. 1. Poverty No access
      2. Wealth and Income No access
      3. Employment No access
      4. Food Security No access
      5. Housing No access
      6. Water and Sanitation No access
  3. Conclusion No access
  4. References No access
Index No access Pages 335 - 344
About the Editors and the Contributors No access Pages 345 - 348