East African Conflict: Causes Of Conflicts In East Africa

War was inevitable: ‘This simple and seemingly innocuous action broke the last thread and split the last institution symbolizing Nigeria's nationhood and cohesion which had been regularly tampered with by the politicians since 1962. The rift between the Eastern Region and the rest of the country was total’ (ibid). In a meeting convened in Aburi, Ghana, by Ghanaian general Gen. Ankrah, leader of the eastern region military Lt. Col. Ojukwu understood the real issues at hand and convinced attendees that the only way for Nigeria to stay together is that it has to break apart, effectively implying secession. After a breakdown in communication, a frustrated federal government passes Decree no. 8 of 17th March 1967, which split Nigeria’s regions into twelve states. This was seen by Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon as a pre-emptive, non-violence weapon against the east. The eastern region was split into 3 states. Lt. Col. Ojukwu unsurprisingly rejected Decree no. 8 and states that the Enugu, (capital of Nigeria’s eastern region) is headed for secession. On the 30th of May 1967, the eastern region of Nigeria declares itself as the independent sovereign state of Biafra. The Federal military fired the first bullet on the 6th of July 1967. Now this essay will turn to providing a background to the development of Realism as an analytical theory of International Relations.

In a Western perspective, Africa is perceived as a poor, insecure, and violent continent. Although this statement is ignorant and disregards the multidimensional issues that are in each of the 54 countries, security and violence is a general issue in most African countries. African countries have not endured an easy history, and their history continues to create present conflicts. Their violent colonial past has left certain countries with ethnic rivalries and left their legacies with agents of security. Although the colonial past of African countries have been the leading cause of many of their current problems, they cannot be blamed for everything. Additionally, there is a positive correlated relationship between the state and the violence

Throughout Northern and Central Africa ethnic fighting and mass genocide has run rampant. Clashes between, diverse ethnic and cultural people has caused instability, these mass humanitarian disasters that can no longer be ignored. With the help of other nations South Sudan can go from another mass genocide waiting to happen, to a region supplier of much needed resources, with the help of other nations. In the 1990’s Rwanda genocide was basically ignored by the United States government and because of this hundreds of thousands were either killed or injured in the area. In the early 2000’s the war in Darfur, created a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. Again thousands of Africans were killed and the United

It is an area that we haven’t traditionally taken part in. Not only is the geo-political canvas constantly changing, the language barrier will prove to be a difficult one to overcome. Along the western coast of Africa the lines that define countries are fluid at best. Land is claimed by the warlord or tribe that can hold it and factions within the countries are fighting daily for control. Rebellion is a daily occurrence and with it brings a multitude of ethnic complexities. With the proliferation of technology we may very well see the region turned into a religious or extremist playground with the heads of those organizations hundreds of miles away controlling the fighting on the ground like a puppeteer with puppets, all in the name of a movement or ideology. As fighting continues crime and war “ become indistinguishable, with “national defense” viewed as a local concept”3. Fighting will become a matter of survival as nations and states lose the ability to protect its citizens and survival becomes

The West African countries of Rwanda, Kenya, and the Democratic Republic of Congo have substantial effects on the neighboring countries. In understanding these potential effects the overreaching theme of conflict is key. What are the issues / conflicts between the countries in this region? Are there internal issues that may impact on their neighbors? Are there non-state actors (groups) with issues in the countries or with other countries? Do these countries have issues / conflicts with other regions of the world?

Africa is responsible for eight physical regions: The Savanna, The Swahili Coast, The Rain Forest, The Sahara, The Sahel, The Ethiopian Highlands, The African Great Lakes, and South Africa. Africa’s harsh physical environment, dessert climate, grasslands, populated zones has made Africa a difficult place to live. Africa is the second largest continent surrounded by The Mediterranean Sea, The Indian Ocean, The Red Sea, and The Atlantic Ocean. The equator divides Africa into two equal parts. The continent southern section is more humid and cool while the north half is dry and hot.

Eastern asia and Africa have many similarities. Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent. Throughout history to describe the most eastern portion of the Asian continent, it has been called East Asia, The Far East, and The Orient. These are two magnificent continents that we are going to take a very close look at.

Violence and bloodshed within and among communities is perhaps the most salient and overarching problem to afflict the world since civilizations emerged. Academics and policy-makers have strove for stable peace amongst the world since the enlightenment, with little success. In order to curb the world’s rampant communal violence, agreeing upon the sources of conflict need is imperative. Many attribute today’s violence to economic forces, that unfairly dispersed economic gains have pitted the poor up against their richer counterparts. While economic factors might have used to be the main actors in fomenting conflict, their impact is being now being overshadowed by cultural factors. Two nations that exemplify the modern world’s main

Africa is 11,668,599 square miles, and it is six percent of the world 's surface area and just a little over twenty percent of the world 's total land surface. The continent is home to fifty-four different countries and many other territories. The weather ranges from very hot desert climate in the summer to wet cool rainforests in the winter fall months.

Ethiopia is one of the oldest surviving countries in the world. While its current economic, societal, and political conditions are considered povertous from the viewpoint of a first world nation, the country has been a relative powerhouse in the Horn of Africa. It has a large military, gross domestic product growth, and a relatively stable international position compared to its neighbors. In the last 60 years, however, it has been continually embroiled in a border dispute with its neighbor Eritrea. Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, has fought against the larger nation’s control for decades, resulting in war in the 1990s and massive tension in the area since. This border conflict has the potential to flare once again and throw the

Following the European countries notion of the scramble for Africa; the events that occurred in DRC during the 1990’s include the civil wars characterised by genocide and the conflicts between the Rwandans, Burundians, Ugandans and the Congolese which were rather awful and created a distorted images of the state and its citizens Dunn (2001). The political conflicts began as early as the 1960’s which witnessed the external regional division emerged particularly between Rwanda and Uganda (Dunn, 2001). The regimes formed by these regions were intended to overthrow the dictatorship by Mobuto Sese Seko on Congo who renamed it to Zaire. Kabila the late president of Congo who ruled for about three years before he was brutally assassinated in 2001 was part of this agenda.

Violence plays a crucial role in the liberation of various African countries. The necessity of the violence, and the justifications for the violence are both highly debatable. However, knowing the prominent role that violence played in the initial colonization, is a justifiable and necessary act of the colonized peoples in the fight for their independence. War and violence played a large role in various political changes throughout history; often war is used as a tactic to force change, when all else has failed. The people of these African countries are using violence in much the same way, to take back their freedom. An oppressed people cannot be punished for their violent actions intended to take back their basic human rights. Especially when

Furthermore, root causes of conflict on the continent are often associated with internal issues or an ‘African problem’. Alison Ayers discusses the false perception of civil war and ‘failed states’ that have been created and implemented by the West (Ayers 2012). She disputes that civil war is internally instigated and only portrayed this way due to western representations of Africa through media. Ayers states that these efforts are made by hegemonic powers and are ‘ideologically and politically convenient’ (Ayers 2012, 261). Her implications here suggest that these ideological subjugations render African regions vulnerable for the use of exploitation and continuous dependency on external powers. This becomes the norm of African perception

Many of the armed conflicts in Africa take on two primary forms. Those that are stationary to a town or geographical region and those that are moving or roving (Beardsly & Lo, 2015). These conflicts can be further stratified into those that involve a political figure or a religious sect. Further, these conflicts must be fueled by money from an internal or external source and powered by arms from the same.

The Ethiopian culture influences the Horn of Africa (HOA) regional economic and political stability because of the country containing around 80 ethnic groups, central location in the HOA, continued presence and impact on bordering countries, and a behaviors and norms developed from a diverse history of both productive and violent leaders and revolutions. Cultural norms and beliefs are integrated in Ethiopian’s combined church and state model of government causing most of the country’s problems within its own borders and regionally The United States, North American Treaty Organization (NATO) and other non-government organizations (NGOs) expended billions of dollars and resources to Ethiopia and the HOA for defensive and developmental