Wars are a major cause of poverty, underdevelopment, and ill health in poor countries. The impact of civil wars on poverty in subsaharan africa. Main causes and consequences the angolas civil war was an armed conflict that continued in the african nation for more than 26 years from 1975 to 2002, with brief periods of. Liberia civil war civil war in liberia causes of the. Jan 03, 2019 nigeria civil war effects causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects. Conflict can be defined as a clash or disagreement often violent between opposing groups or individuals. Causes of the congolese civil wars and their implications for. Root causes of violent conflict in developing countries. Origins of the war nigeria, a nation roughly the size of texas on africas west coast, has a larger population than any other african nation, and is home to over twohundred and fifty different ethnic groups. Civil war political causes of civil war britannica. Contrary to popular belief, africas civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. It encompasses colonial wars, wars of independence, secessionist and separatist conflicts, major episodes of national violence riots, massacres, etc. Causes of the congolese civil wars and their implications for humanitarian assistance 5 chronic weakness of the postcolonial state in africa joined by a systematic lack of productive industries has perverted the state into a compensatory kind of enterprise. The impact of civil war on women and children in africa.
The major causes of war in nigeria is traced down to the attempted secessions of the southern region or province of nigeria and also religious, economic, ethnic, and cultural tensions between the hausas of the northern region of nigeria and the igbos of the eastern part of nigeria. The record is clear that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socioeconomic and political inequity and grinding poverty. It is also being torn apart due to resources such as diamonds and offshore oil, with various factions fighting for. Islam and civil wars in west africa 23 christianity 2525 christianity and colonialism 25 africanisation of christianity 3030 christianity, armed con. Many conflicts after 1945 first emerged as groups sought to achieve independence for areas under colonial rule. Causes of the congolese civil wars and their implications.
The causes and dynamics of conflict in subsaharan africa subsaharan africa is a vast land rich in natural resources with great potential for investment and opportunity. The root causes of the civil war in liberia can be traced back to the founding of the country in 1847, after the american colonization society had started to ship back freed slaves from the caribbean and america to the west coast of africa in 1820. Independence has been bunched in two big waves, the british and french decolonizations of africa in 196062 and the russian decolonization. Why is there costly violent conflict when most people would be better off by settling. This introduction is aimed at students of northeast africa, and of conflict and ethnicity. The indochina wars 194675 and the algerian war of independence 195462. 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. The author also looks at the series of minor civil wars generated by, and contained within, the major conflict, as well as the regional and international factors including humanitarian aid which have exacerbated civil violence. Wars often have cultural dimensions related to ethnicity or religion, but there are invariably underlying economic causes too. However, careful analysis of the determinants of civil wars in africa and a systematic comparison to other regions points to a more complex picture. We investigate the causes of civil war, using a new data set of wars during 196099. Sep 27, 2014 this article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Nov 08, 2015 as brandon li answered, at the moment africa is not suffering much civil conflict. Instead of covering the whole period of the civil war, this paper will focus on the prewar period to show the causes of civil war onset.
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. Liberia is no different, president sirleaf emphasized. Examples include the conflicts in the democratic republic of congo drc, angola and sierra leone. South african war, also called boer war, second boer war, or angloboer war. 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.
However, the most violent war of the post world war ii period was indeed a civil war in afric. In order to explore more complex causes of civil wars deeply rooted in society, this paper will examine the case of the sierra leone civil war. Introduction this paper investigates whether civil wars have economic causes. 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. 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. Greed and grievance in civil war new york university. Political deprivation, such as colonial subordination or lack of political rights, provides another plausible motivation for resorting to violence. 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. Causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects information. Over the last 50 years, more than 20 countries on the south of the sahara have experienced at least, one civil war. And there are not too many routes to future conflict, which is good. Causes of civil war in asia and subsaharan africa 161 sandler 2002, we compare asia and ssa, two regions most afflicted by civil war, in terms of the extent to which their proneness to civil war is a function of economic development, ethnic and religious fractionalization, domestic governance, and trade openness.
Read conflicts in africaintroduction to learn more. List of modern conflicts in north africa wikipedia. Deep political and economic development failures not tribalism or ethnic hatred are the root causes of africa s problems. What are the causes of civil war in many african countries. Contrary to popular belief, africa s civil wars are not due to its ethnic and religious diversity. Traditional religion in african civil wars 17 islam 19. Angola, which has seen an estimated 500,000 people killed since 1989 and an estimated 3 million refugees. Oct 25, 2012 in order to explore more complex causes of civil wars deeply rooted in society, this paper will examine the case of the sierra leone civil war. Pdf the impact of civil war on women and children in africa. 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. There are many causes for the business cycle in south africa.
Causes of civil wars in africa essays and articles. This article provides an overview of the theory and empirics of the causes and correlates of civil war. Nigeria has experienced vast changes, evolving from a collection of ancient kingdoms to a. 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.
There have recently been numerous civil wars and conflicts going in africa, some of which are still going on, including. The primary causes of civil war are political, not environmental, and although environmental conditions may change with future warming, general correlates of conflicts and wars are likely to prevail. It can also be said to be an incompatibility, as of two things that cannot be simultaneously fulfilled. Wars, or even the civil wars and atrocities in revolutionary russia and china. Over the postworld war ii period, civil wars have become more common than international wars, affecting more than 70 countries. The legacy of the civil wars is still strong, and a more recent trend is an increasing regional division within liberia see section 4. These conflicts are referred to as diamond wars, said felix downesthomas who has just returned from a visit to subsaharan africa. Africaa land of beautiful and fascinating sceneries, a land of rich culture, a land where wild and untamed animals reside, a land blessed with natural resources but when someone talks about africa the first thing comes in mind is a battlefield, killing of innocent people, poverty, lack of. Deep political and economic development failures not tribalism or ethnic hatred are the root causes of africas problems. Causes of conflicts in africa conflicts in africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of.
For example, the war in rwanda has been attributed to pressure on land, while that in angola has been interpreted as a contest for natural resources. Using recently developed models of the overall prevalence of civil wars in 161 countries between. President ellen johnson sirleaf has told several prominent individuals, former executives of economic community of west african states ecowas and a number of former heads of state attending ecowas international conference in monrovia that the root causes of civil conflicts in africa are associated mainly with bad governance, lack of respect for human rights, socioeconomic and political. The nigerian civil war miamidade county public schools. There is a growing number of wars in developing countries and they are. South african war, also called the second boer war or the second war of independence, war fought from october 11, 1899, to may 31, 1902, between great britain and the two boer afrikaner republicsthe south african republic transvaal and the orange free stateresulting in british victory. Africa a land of beautiful and fascinating sceneries, a land of rich culture, a land where wild and untamed animals reside, a land blessed with natural resources but when someone talks about africa the first thing comes in mind is a battlefield, killing of innocent people, poverty, lack of food, dictatorship and above all the civil wars. Rebellion may be explained by atypically severe grievances, such as high inequality, a lack of political rights, or ethnic and religious divisions in society. Feb 09, 2002 wars are a major cause of poverty, underdevelopment, and ill health in poor countries.
In all cases conflicts are listed by total deaths, including subconflicts specified below. Causes of the congolese civil wars and their implications for humanitarian assistance 4 patrons or from investors willing to invest23 is no longer dependent on taxation of domestic productive sectors. Economic and political causes of civil wars in africa. Explanations of particular civil wars often invoke such causes. The incidence of war has been rising since 1950, with most wars being within states. Nigeria civil war effects causes of civil war in nigeria and its effects. As most of the affected countries could be considered poor, the hypothesis of a selfreinforcing spiral between poverty and war would sound reasonable. Causes, impact and implications for the great lakes region acknowledgement in 20, the chairperson of the african union commission, nkosazana dlaminizuma, requested that the economic commission for africa eca undertake three regional studies to. Into mid2011, the worlds worst food crisis is being felt in east africa, in ethiopia, somalia and kenya.
Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project. Alternatively, it might be explained by atypical opportunities for building a rebel organization. This introduction is aimed at students of northeast africa, and of. The worst bloodletting in twentiethcentury africa occurred during the colonial period in king leopolds congo free state white 2003.
Conflicts and causes of conflicts in africa project topics. However, the two modern trends of democracy and economic prosperity elude this region due in large part to persistent conflict and complex sociopolitical dynamics. This article explores why africa has been largely ignored and what some of the root causes of the problems are. Whilst some schools of thought argue that poverty is the cause of many civil wars in subsaharan africa, the worlds most poor region, other schools argue that poverty is also a consequence of wars, hence the twoway relationship between poverty and war. Main causes and consequences the angolas civil war was an armed conflict that continued in the african nation for more than 26 years from 1975 to 2002, with brief periods of fragile peace. Draft chapter for the oxford handbook of the economics of peace and conflict. Over the course of the quarter, you will be expected to do outside reading to familiarize yourself with another war.