Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and Prospects
The advent of intra-state conflicts or ‘new wars’ in West Africa has brought many of its economies to the brink of collapse, creating humanitarian casualties and concerns. For decades, countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea- Bissau were crippled by conflicts and c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre for Security Governance
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Stability : International Journal of Security and Development |
| Online Access: | http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/44 |
| _version_ | 1818356442213646336 |
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| author | Nancy Annan |
| author_facet | Nancy Annan |
| author_sort | Nancy Annan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The advent of intra-state conflicts or ‘new wars’ in
West Africa has brought many of its economies to the brink of collapse, creating humanitarian
casualties and concerns. For decades, countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and
Guinea- Bissau were crippled by conflicts and civil strife in which violence and incessant
killings were prevalent. While violent conflicts are declining in the sub-region, recent
insurgencies in the Sahel region affecting the West African countries of Mali, Niger and
Mauritania and low intensity conflicts surging within notably stable countries such as Ghana,
Nigeria and Senegal sends alarming signals of the possible re-surfacing of internal and regional
violent conflicts. These conflicts are often hinged on several factors including poverty, human
rights violations, bad governance and corruption, ethnic marginalization and small arms
proliferation. Although many actors including the ECOWAS, civil society and international
community have been making efforts, conflicts continue to persist in the sub-region and their
resolution is often protracted. This paper posits that the poor understanding of the fundamental
causes of West Africa’s violent conflicts and civil strife would likely cause the sub-region to
continue experiencing and suffering the brunt of these violent wars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:57:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b576a3b0fcd44bb19af38eb08cfda545 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2165-2627 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T19:57:16Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Centre for Security Governance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Stability : International Journal of Security and Development |
| spelling | doaj.art-b576a3b0fcd44bb19af38eb08cfda5452022-12-21T23:33:17ZengCentre for Security GovernanceStability : International Journal of Security and Development2165-26272014-01-0131Art. 310.5334/sta.da89Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and ProspectsNancy Annan0Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training CentreThe advent of intra-state conflicts or ‘new wars’ in West Africa has brought many of its economies to the brink of collapse, creating humanitarian casualties and concerns. For decades, countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea- Bissau were crippled by conflicts and civil strife in which violence and incessant killings were prevalent. While violent conflicts are declining in the sub-region, recent insurgencies in the Sahel region affecting the West African countries of Mali, Niger and Mauritania and low intensity conflicts surging within notably stable countries such as Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal sends alarming signals of the possible re-surfacing of internal and regional violent conflicts. These conflicts are often hinged on several factors including poverty, human rights violations, bad governance and corruption, ethnic marginalization and small arms proliferation. Although many actors including the ECOWAS, civil society and international community have been making efforts, conflicts continue to persist in the sub-region and their resolution is often protracted. This paper posits that the poor understanding of the fundamental causes of West Africa’s violent conflicts and civil strife would likely cause the sub-region to continue experiencing and suffering the brunt of these violent wars.http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/44 |
| spellingShingle | Nancy Annan Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and Prospects Stability : International Journal of Security and Development |
| title | Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and
Prospects |
| title_full | Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and
Prospects |
| title_fullStr | Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and
Prospects |
| title_full_unstemmed | Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and
Prospects |
| title_short | Violent Conflicts and Civil Strife in West Africa: Causes, Challenges and
Prospects |
| title_sort | violent conflicts and civil strife in west africa causes challenges and prospects |
| url | http://www.stabilityjournal.org/article/view/44 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nancyannan violentconflictsandcivilstrifeinwestafricacauseschallengesandprospects |