Africa continent has been faced with many issues of conflicts that often culminate into civil wars that lead to profound consequences. Many individuals have lost their lives and the economy of the involved communities adversely affected. Countries like Rwanda and Sierra Leone have experienced the destructive consequences of these civil wars, and they have learned from their experience. Civil wars in Africa are caused by various factors. Some of these predisposing factors include the role of colonial influence, the cold war, external actors and the alteration of the social and political identities. There are various approaches used in the efforts to eradicate the issue of civil wars and conflicts in Africa. Some of these strategies involve the promotion of peace in the whole of African countries. The memo will discuss the various causes of civil wars in Africa, approaches used in their eradication and also it will outline some real recommendations that can be employed by external powers in eradicating this vice in Africa.

 

Causes of Civil Wars in Africa

The Role of Colonial Influence

The impact of Europeans colonialism in Africa has played a major role in creating a conducive environment for civil wars in many African countries (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). Colonial powers saw Africa as a cheap source of vital economic assets. They also developed sociopolitical divisions that did not consider the reality of Africa, leading to devastating later outcomes for countries such as Rwanda (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). Most colonialist powers sustained extremely masculine systems of rules over their colonies, and they flunked sufficiently inspire the development of democracy. They ignored the requirements for developing local infrastructures except where they had trade gains and this made many colonies to be exporters of a single resource.

Most colonial powers assumed a superior strategy to governance in which the white were treated like outstanding beings and African were treated like inferiors especially the rule that British applied in Kenya (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003). Europeans colonialists’ ignorance for establishing a successful capacity structuring in its colonies left the African continent economically and socially unready for democracy. The continent was left full of mistrust and resentful for more Western impact. Mistrust led to the propagation of civil wars in many African Countries.

The Role of the Cold War

The Cold War played an important function in accelerating civil war in Africa. Firstly, by availing military power to the states that were incapable of sustaining a domination of power. Secondly, the war challenged the political legality of the African governments. For instance, the Mozambique and Angola civil wars provide a viable example of the above situation (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). Both superpowers had colonial aspirations in Africa. They saw Africa as an alternative battlefield that they were not in a position to directly engage in war (Elbadawi &Sambanis, 2000).The scenario motivated both sides swiftly to militarize governments that were selected for suitability rather than legality. Governments like those in Zaire, Ethiopia, and Somalia developed great reliant on cold war assistance to sustain themselves via masculine rule and dominance in military (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003).These regimes provoked the scramble for power as they finally developed unsustainability.

Both superpowers aggressively took part in “King making” throughout the cold war period (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003).The process of king making ignored the legality of the democratic rule. These regimes were left to do whatever they wanted with no accountability. African nationalistic leaders like Luis Cabral and Kwame Nkrumah, who refused to support the European colonialists, were ousted with the help of Western power (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). Colonialists encouraged the abuse of human rights and corruption. They also participated in the unjust assassination of the African political leaders. The United States, Belgium, and Portugal have been linked in the assassination of political leaders such as Patrice Lumumba and Eduardo Mondlane (Azam, 2001). The cold war played a significant role in predisposing African Countries to civil wars.

The Role of External Actors

The relationship of international communities and Africa post-cold war has contributed in propagating of several civil wars via assisting the military and enhancement of the arms trade. The sales of the military by America to states viewed as effective in its War On Terror increased by three times in the period between 2003-2007 to over US$140 million (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003).Violations of the UN arms restrictions have propelled conflict in Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and have confirmed difficult in DRC and Somalia (Azam, 2001).

The US has of late initiated civil war in the support of its War On Terror. The administration of President Bush has been strongly associated with the attack carried by Ethiopia on Al Shabaab in Somalia in 2007-2009 (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). This issue provoked a complicated insurgency by the Islam to arise in Mogadishu, which propagated the civil war after the withdrawal of Ethiopia. Of late, the involvement of China in the continent advances questions about the awareness of the threat this may impose on the planned interest of the America. Also, the implications this could have for the degree of internal security and militarization (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003). The formation of AFRICOM and other planned investments shows that America is bothered about reuniting its impacts in the continent. The role of external actors plays a significant role in propagating civil wars in African countries.

 

The Role of Identity Politics and Social Manipulation

A lot has been put across regarding African religious divisions, geographic and ethnic as the common explanation for the conflicts. For instance: Western and Southern Nigeria; Somali clannism; Muslims versus Christians; Hutu vs. Tutsi and many others (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). A critical examination of any of these conflicts quickly indicates a more complicated truth of alliances, factions and subgroups that mostly overlap these factors. Divisions among identity groups have been principally constructed socially in many conflicts, and they are normally realistic. The Ugandan war against the Lord’s Resistance Army and the Maitatsine War in Nigeria reveal that civil wars can take place even with no financial motivation for main actors (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003).

The nature of conflict has changed with time. The latest rising overlap among the civil war and a political or criminal violence in DRC, Somalia, and West Africa has conveyed its description in question(Azam, 2001). Independent armed forces, regulation of the population via fear and wars within wars are the primary characteristics of the new war framework as well as important styles in these conflicts (Azam, 2001). The new theory of war proposes that main actors in these conflicts have utilized the weakness and poor socioeconomic chances of the state to alter the social divisions and initiate civil war. The initiation of civil war is on the key foundation of identity rather than any idea of developing society or the state.

The Role of Competition for Natural Resources in Fuelling Conflict

It is clear from countries such as Sierra Leone, DRC and Angola that plenty of natural resources can perform a role in promoting civil war (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). The absence of the natural resources can stimulate it as observed in Somalia (Montalvo & Reynal-Querol, 2003). More evidence proposes that civil wars only take place if economic conditions last to make them viable financially. The CH model has been used in the various African conflicts with positive results. In addition, the end of the cold war has stimulated a different focus on natural resources as means of funding wars. However, the CH model interpretation of the competition for resources does not avail an exhaustive persuading explanation for African civil wars.

There is increased predisposition to overuse of the CH model in describing the causes of civil wars. This model just like other models is limited, and it necessarily disregards non-economic explanation of the triggers of the conflicts (Elbadawi & Sambanis, 2000). It is obvious from the above discussion that presence and absence of economic resources predisposes a country to engage in conflicts that eventually lead to civil war.

Different Approaches to Resolving African Civil Wars

The strategy of resolving civil wars in Africa mainly comprise of three interlocking elements. These elements include peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace settlement

Peace-Making

Peacemaking comprises of a broad array of approaches that are developed to end the war (Azam, 2001). The most widely utilized in Africa has been mediation and negotiation. In mediation, a third party guides the conflicting parties via a non-argumentative discussion process whose main goal is resolving the conflict.Practically the mediation process in most civil wars in Africa has involved the intervention of the Organization of African Unity/African Union (AU) (Azam, 2001). AU is a sub-regional organization like Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the United Nations. In several situations, these international organizations have performed either individually or in collaboration (Hegre, 2004). For instance, in the course of the civil of Chad (1978-1981)the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was the principal mediator of the war(Azam, 2001).However, from the coming up of the global order of the Cold War, the procedure has adopted a collaborative mediatory approach comprising a regional organization the United Nations and the AU. In other circumstances, the field has been expanded to encompass some key global powers such as France, Britain and the United States (Hegre, 2004).

As an operational matter, mediation is mostly accompanied by negotiation. This fact is because no efforts of peace-making can thrive without the willingness of the involved parties to end the conflict. Hence, negotiation avails the conflicting parties the chance to converse directly, especially to speak their respective positions (Williams & Boutellis, 2014). Relying on the situations, as it has been demonstrated by many civil wars in Africa, negotiation has the capacity of creating and fueling collaboration. However, such result relies on the flexibility and good faith of the conflicting parties.

Peacekeeping

Peacekeeping has been utilized as an avenue for assisting in creating a favorable environment for peacemaking in most of the African civil wars (Azam, 2001).The operations of peacekeeping utilize two key genres namely the force of military interposition and the peace observation. Observation of peace has entailed United Nations, OAU/AU or a regional organization intervening in a civil war using a military team and civilian personnel (Hegre, 2004).The major task of observers of peace has been to oversee submission by all the parties involved in a conflict with the ceasefire terms. The observers were restricted from applying the military force. This kind of model was applied by the UN in the course of the first civil war in Liberia. It was also applied in the course of the initial stage of the civil war of Sierra Leone (Williams & Boutellis, 2014).

Two main models of the military interpositions force have been applied in the several African civil wars. They include the traditional and the robust or new model. The traditional model is secured by various elements (Azam, 2001). Firstly, the OAU and a regional organization intervened in several civil wars using military force. Secondly, the presence of a ceasefire among or between the parties involved in the conflict was a major requirement for the intervention. Third, the force of the interventionist acted as a buffer between the warring parties. Fourth, the force of the interventionist created a corridor of security for the transporting and distributing the humanitarian assistance. Fifth, the force was supposed to be neutral and lastly it was not supposed to use military force offensively (Hegre, 2004). The new or robust model was developed after the cold war era. It was formed due to the changing trends in the civil wars in Africa and also the drawbacks of the traditional model. The model is founded on several elements. First, the intervention is carried out by AU, UN and a regional organization alone or in collaboration (Tieku & Hakak, 2014). Second, the consent of either warring parties is not required for the intervention to occur. Third, there is no need for the existence of ceasefire prior to intervention.

Peace Settlement

Peace settlement is formed after the warring parties accept to end the war. Its terms are expressed in a peace of agreement or accord which is signed by the belligerents. Taking the lessons of several African civil wars, peace agreements normally consist of three main components (Azam, 2001).They include the procedural, substantive and the organizational component. The procedural component comprises of the processes for the formation and maintenance of peace like formation and overseeing of the ceasefire. The substantive component expresses the social, economic and political structures that are required to solve past concerns and avails for a more equitable and fair future (Hegre, 2004). The organizational dimension constitutes the mechanisms and institutions that are needed to implement the terms of the settlement. The inclusive agreement that terminated the civil war of Sudan in 2005 is a good illustration of the peace settlement (Williams & Boutellis, 2014).

The two common paths from some of the civil wars in Africa are educative. Even after the formulation of the settlements and enveloped in a peace of accord or agreement and signed by the warring parties one party may opt to disregard a term of settlement (Tieku & Hakak, 2014). This scenario can also return the war. For instance at the course of the first civil war in Chad, the various peace settlements failed minutes after they were signed. However, peace settlement has proved to be an effective strategy for resolving several civil wars in Africa.

Realistic Policy Recommendations about How External Powers Can Support Conflict Resolution and Recovery in African Civil War Contexts

The Use of Culturally Appropriate Conflict Resolution

Research has shown that the use of conflict resolution strategies by the external power without incorporating the local culture does not yield positive results (Azam, 2001).Incorporation of the local culture in designing conflict resolution plays a significant role in the termination of the conflicts and prevention the return of the conflict. The UN has been the most conspicuous in the peace efforts in the continent that have developed in line with the requirements of various intrastate civil wars and conflicts (Hegre, 2004).UN has a patterned record of conflict resolution and peace efforts. It has not prioritized African conflicts and has been unwilling to intervene readily in African conflicts. This scenario has been demonstrated by the disaster-striken Rwanda and Somalia in 1994 (Williams & Boutellis, 2014). This failure of the UN triggered the African Security organizations to look for homegrown approaches.

The UN does not depend on the local culture in its peace-keeping and peacebuilding processes. Darfur has been mentioned as a demonstration of the lack of effective peacekeeping due to UN insensitivity of peacekeepers to local culture (Williams &Boutellis, 2014).It is believed that the local culture would have helped in the creation of a close relationship with the population in Darfur situation, (Azam, 2001).One of the reasonsfor the failure to settle conflicts or negotiate for peace is the fact that mediators enforce their premises and assumptions about conflict and conflict resolution in the rival group which do not share them. The UN has accepted local participation and collaboration in feedback to accusations of neo-colonialism and neo-imperialism. It has been proved that local culture incorporation into the UN’s mission of promoting peace has been fruitful in ending the African civil wars. For instance, the collaboration of the Liberian government with the UN helped in the termination of Liberian civil wars (Tieku & Hakak, 2014). It is recommended that the external forces to incorporate the local culture in their missions of ending civil wars in Africa.

Application of Effective Mediation as an Approach of Terminating Civil Wars in Africa

External powers have played a significant role in terminating civil wars and conflicts in Africa. Mediation is defined as the act of arbitratingfor the reasonof generatingresolutionby an external neutral party. Mediation is better than other approaches in terminating civil wars and conflicts as it has already demonstrated its ability in achieving this objective (Azam, 2001).External actors operate in a hostile environment where information irregularities about comparativecompetenciesand inclinationsmatter, and some form of a safetypredicamentlasts. In this respect, any potentially successful intervention has to alter the framework of the relation between the conflicting parties and the information they possess about other preferences and capabilities. Empirical studies of civil war interventions mainly concentrate in altering the structures (Williams & Boutellis, 2014).Manipulating information may affect the calculation about when and how to agree on a negotiation outcome.

Effective mediation is crucial in the termination of the civil conflict. External actors must be in a position of communicating strategically to end conflicts between warring parties. External powers such as the UN and the United States have helped in the termination of several conflicts in Africa. For instance, the UN sent Kofi Annan to visit Kenya in a bid to mediate over the 2007 post-election violence that led to the killing of more than 10,000 Kenyans (Williams & Boutellis, 2014).It was only after that mediation did the post-election violence ended. Another illustration was the termination of the Liberian Civil Wars ofby the UN mediators. The mediator must convince the warring parties especially in Africa to agree to disarm (Tieku & Hakak, 2014). External actors have helped in ending many civil wars and conflicts all over Africa. The mediators should be educated on the use of effective mediation techniques to convince the warring parties to the wars. Mediation is a reality strategy that can help in the eradication of the civil wars and conflicts in Africa.

Conclusion

There are many factors that lead to civil wars and conflicts in Africa continent. The role of colonial influence left Africa susceptible to civilwars and conflicts because of the social, political and economic divisions that it created. The cold war helped in increased supply of firearms and weapons in Africa which predisposed Africa to civil wars. The role of external actors also had a similar effect as that of the cold war as they helped in rapid militarizing of the African countries. Political and social manipulations led to increase in social and political divisions which raised a lot of tensions consequently leading to civil wars. There exist several approaches that are applied in the termination of the civil wars and conflicts in Africa. The role of peacemaking, peacekeeping and peace settlement have played a major role in eradicating civil wars and conflicts in Africa. Research has proved that their application matters a lot in their effectiveness of ending the civil wars. External powers have played a significant role in resolving civil wars and conflicts in Africa. This essay recommends external power to incorporate local culture in their missions of terminating civil wars in Africa. It also recommends the application of the effective mediation process. Civil wars and conflicts are significant issues that require the interventions of all significant individuals in their eradication