European Union External Action Service

Intrastate conflict has historically been savage and chaotic; nowhere have these descriptors been more fitting than within African civil wars. A legacy of colonialism, ineffective governance, and regional conflict scars the continent, resulting in regular political instability within its territories. The Nigerian civil war of the late 1960s cost the lives of an estimated three-million people- the majority of whom were civilians who succumbed to starvation (NWE 2015). This conflict has traditionally been understood to have been caused by ethnic tensions within the state, and justifiably so (Falola 1999, 125). The ethnic cleansing of the Igbo that occurred throughout September and October of 1966 in northern Nigeria undoubtedly played a

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

In an attempt to gain local perspective of the most recent terror attacks in Western Africa, reporter Carley Petesch of the Associated Press has been stationed in the region as their lead West-African correspondent. In the article she discusses how the beach massacre in Ivory Coast and the attack on a Mali hotel have forced the United Nations and European Union to dispatch troops to the area, with the hopes of improving local security measures. She speaks with locals and an area security consultant to discuss how the terrorist group known as Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) continue to terrorize the region, and local governments are in need of international assistance to prevent future attacks.

Over the last 13 years, since the attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the world has been exposed to the global threat of extremist ideologies. Service men and women have had a firsthand view of the breeding grounds and environments such ideologies are harbored and developed. With the drawdown of the war in Afghanistan, the global war on terrorism will not end. Instead the focus will shift to other dangerous parts of the world where extremists have already become established; places like Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The weak government in Somalia has fostered an environment conducive to the development of extremist ideologies. This is evident

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

democratic republic of the Congo, are troubled by political conflicts that usually end in wars, such

Sierra Leone had been considered a fragile state even before its civil war from 1991-2002, this is because it had “weak capacity and will to provide security and deliver services to its population” (Pickering, 2009, p20). The decade during the civil war was overwhelmed by huge human rights abuses, lack of coherent governments, weak social security structures and masses of violence (Evoe, 2008, p2).. A number of peace efforts were generated by international institutions, none of which were extensively effective throughout all of Sierra Leone. Despite these difficulties, the intervention in Sierra Leone is considered a noteworthy success for the United Nations peacebuilding mission. The main objective of peacebuilding missions is to ‘rebuild’ failing and weak states (Cubitt, 2013, p91) and to “prevent violence from recurring in countries that are just emerging from civil conflict” (Paris, 2002, p637). The UN mission in Sierra Leone is widely regarded as an example of successful peacebuilding in a war torn country. The mission facilitated a transition from, a failing state to a moderately peaceful state. This mission is held as an example of successful intervention, and is often used as a means to justify the benefits of UN peacebuilding and peacekeeping missions.

In the minds of people today, the Middle East is a country of terrorism, violence, and war. What they fail to realize is that there are reasons behind the instability in the region. There have been many factors that have contributed to the unsteadiness of the Middle East today. In addition to the collapse of the Gunpowder Empires, particularly the Ottoman Empire, the countries of the Middle East have also suffered from ongoing religious divisions, wars and revolts in the area, and western intervention, particularly in oil and arms.

In 2008 the United Nations send an advisor Jan Egeland to the Sahel and he brought three major risks to the Sahel. Egeland noted that due to climate change communities that depend on natural resources like farming and herding will be stressed, there will be more migrations and refugees due to climactic disaster and there will be a possibility of conflicts over the little remaining natural resources (http://postconflict.unep.ch/publications/UNEP_Sahel_EN.pdf). It is simple human nature to have an innate desire to live and pass on our genes. Therefore, once the populations living in the Sahel start seeing more intense droughts and famines, there will be an increase in conflict over natural resources. A prime example of the severity of these conflicts is the Darfur genocide. Darfur is located in the Northeastern African country of Sudan. During the 1080’s through 1990’s most of the Sahel went through intense droughts and severe weather patterns, which according to Colombia University researched Alessandra Giannini was not attributed to local Sahel activities like overgrazing or deforestation rather it was caused by “changes to the global climate.” However desertification, which is a major

billions of the world’s poorest, where safety is secured only for those with money, and where much of our well-intended aid is lost in the daily chaos of violence. (Boutros V. and Haugen G., 2014).

African poaching and wildlife trafficking rates began skyrocketing towards the close of the South African Border War (SABW) in the late 1980's. The Angolan bush wars would serve as a premonition of what lay in store concerning contemporary Sub-Saharan African instability and conflict throughout the region. Unfortunately, the hope for self-determination associated with Sub-Saharan Africa’s widespread independence movements, which became prevalent in the mid 1950’s, was short lived. Alarmingly, since decolonization, more than 40% of postcolonial Sub-Saharan Africa has endured some form of violent conflict, ranging from heavy handed political infighting to full-blown civil war.

The state of terror and violence that exists in many parts of this strategically invaluable region

Sub-Saharan Africa is facing a time where the future can be filled with boundless economic growth or engrossed with greater terrorism and instability. Now is the time for the United States to step up as a global leader to ensure global security while creating constancy in Sub-Saharan Africa by limiting the power and control of terrorism groups.

For developing regions, Latin America and Africa are a few of the focal countries to analyze civil war onset and for future preventions. Cuba, now a communist state underwent political turmoil from leaders like Fidel Castro to achieve its present government. Nigeria, a prominent oil powerhouse also faced ethnic conflict stemming from its diverse population. Both countries are still susceptible to future conflicts, but learning from their own history could easily prevent it from happening.

Africa’s Sahel region faces many complex and interconnected challenges. Here are some of the major ones, and how the United Nations is assisting the region in finding solutions.