Ethnic Identity, And Ethnic Conflict In Africa

Identity continues to be a major cause for many wars, both within and without a country. History has proven that conflicts within the borders mostly involve people with very little difference between them. Most of civil wars in nations often start as ethnicity feuds and end up to full scale wars. In the chapter, The Narcissism of Minor Differences, Blok argues that it is often the small differences that lead up to prolonged struggles (p115, 2000). Somalia is an example of a nation where majority of its people share the same cultural and religious background but for a third decade now, members

There were many situations and events in history that led to wars, freedom of religion, civil unrest, unfair trade, terrorism, and independence. By examining experiences, troubles, and triumphs of

Ikechi Mgbeoji’s book, Collective Insecurity examines the hidden causes of West Africa’s civil wars and addresses an important question: “Why has the U.N. system not worked to protect people and to enhance their welfare, as intended, in Africa and elsewhere?” In his book, Mgbeoji proposes, “the solution to African political instability lies in a structural rearrangement of the African polity for the purpose of legitimate governance of African peoples.”

From 1914 to the present, one of the most powerful trends of the postwar era was the importance of the developing world and their desire for independence. Nationalism was an important factor in the growing independence movements in Sub- Saharan Africa. Regardless of political changes, social conflict and tensions remained a problem. Tensions between Europeans and Africans, which had been a problem since the Europeans’ arrival and social unrest in communities didn’t change.

  In Sub-Sahara Africa, during the last four decades thirty-five major armed conflicts have occurred, taking the lives of almost ten million people. There is a high correlation between the risk of conflict and a low ranking on the Human Development Index (HDI), due to the weak capacities and inability of these poor countries to guarantee the security of its citizens, rebellions and conflict have a high occurrence rate. United Nations has observed that conflicts

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

While advocacy of federalism as a tool for managing ethnic conflict continues to grow with respect to a diverse set of cases, its proponents and opponents point to different cases of federal success and failure. However, supposed benefits and no-benefits of federalism have been challenged by both those who argue that federalism exacerbates or mitigates ethnic conflict. This debate about the merits and demerits of post-conflict federalism has reached a deadlock, largely as a consequence of

As a demographic phenomenon, ethnicity is belonging to a specific ethnic group possessing distinct culture and common origin. This is called inscriptive group identity. According to Said Edward (1993) a good introduction to matters of societal concern and especially those of

This essay will review the documentary – “Road to Genocide” where Christian paramilitaries in Central African Republic (CAR) carried out ethnic cleansing of the Muslim population during the state’s ongoing civil war. At the very outset of this video, a crumbling Central Africa is portrayed with utter mayhem, horrendous acts of violence and human massacres. We will elaborate on how conflict in this particular context is accentuated with reference to its socio-economic, cultural, historical and political factors.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s colonial past has led to ethnic conflict, social problems, and economic problems during the present day. Let me start out saying that you can’t start a revolution without some kickback of the people’s opinions. The transition wasn't smoothly for the two countries I researched, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. These two country's colonial leaders did not do a good job of setting up these countries. If they hadn’t set up the enslavement of the people living there, the nations might’ve been a little better off. Another event that led to the ethnic conflicts going on today was the leaders gave the people independence but it wasn't given fully, North Sudanese were

The current shape of many of the world’s states has largely been dictated by colonialism. From the diverse states of Latin America to the developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, colonialism and imperialism throughout the centuries have left everlasting imprints on politics, geography, and culture. While large-scale direct colonialism has ended, its cultural and ethnical implications have lingered. When European states exerted their political prowess on the ethnic groups of Africa, they did so through stripping indigenous populations of their culture and racializing ethnic identities in order to justify the extraction of raw materials for economic gain, as seen in Belgium’s colonialist ventures in the Congo Free State.

When examining the differences between ethnic conflict and genocide one must first analyze the operational definitions. Ethnic conflict can be described as the hatred that forms when two or more cultures reside in the same area and disagree over power distribution (Barkan and Snowden 2008: p.131). This power struggle often begins on a smaller scale, most commonly in the form of a single hate group, and gradually cultivates into a larger one, as in a national or international organization. It often begins as prejudicial views inherited during primary socialization. These negative views often construe distrust for a certain group. When dislike is based upon one’s ethnicity, ethnocentric opinions are formed and lead to stereotyping and discrimination.

With this conceded class distinction came the fight for reigning ability, and amidst this power vacuum, Rwandans fell victim to conflicting groups and crime, the eventual building blocks that lead to the massacre of 800,000 civilians. The origins of this ethnic loathing and in turn ethnic genocide can be secured to European colonialism, where those who arrived to colonize and yield the wealth of western knowledge, instead carried racist beliefs. Through this haunting event in history, when foreign governments unfittingly place their ideologies in unknown territory, revealed is how uninvited nations can destabilize a state by stimulating ethnic warfare, causing it to collapse and crumble through conflict.

Whatever the exact nature of the various African ethnogenesis processes, the states gaining independence were populated by groups which had differing loyalties. This scenario would fall foul of many theories of the state, in which the absence of the coherent link between the population and the power structure of the state calls it into question. Ethnic cleavages has been a factor in many of the numerous coups d'etat and armed conflicts throughout Africa, as rival groups see the power of state apparatus as a prize worth fighting for(Warner 2001, p89).

For more than 25 years in the late 20th century and into the 21st, the island nation of Sri Lanka tore itself apart in a brutal civil war.  At the most basic level, the conflict arose from ethnic tension between Sinhalese and Tamil citizens.  Of course, in reality the causes are more complex, and arise in large part from Sri Lanka 's colonial legacy.