The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: From Grievance to Violence PDF
Preview The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa: From Grievance to Violence
The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa The Roots of Ethnic Conflict in Africa From Grievance to Violence Edited by Wanjala S. Nasong’o THE ROOTS OF ETHNIC CONFLICT IN AFRICA Copyright © Wanjala S. Nasong’o 2015 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-55499-4 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission. In accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6- 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. First published 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN The author has asserted their right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of Nature America, Inc., One New York Plaza, Suite 4500, New York, NY 10004- 1562. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. ISBN 978-1-349-57803-0 ISBN: 978-1-137-55500-7 (eBook) DOI: 10.1057/9781137555007 Distribution in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world is by Palgrave Macmillan®, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data The roots of ethnic conflict in Africa : from grievance to violence / Wanjala S. Nasong’o. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Ethnic co nf lict— Africa. 2 . Political violence— Africa. 3. Africa— Politics and government—1 960- 4. Africa—Social conditions— 1960- I. Nasong’o, Shadrack Wanjala, editor, author. HN780.Z9S6285 2015 305.800960904— dc23 2015017024 A catalogue record for the book is available from the British Library. Contents Illustrations vii Abbreviations ix Preface xi 1 From Grievance to Ethnic Mobilization: An Introduction 1 Wanjala S. Nasong’o 2 Explaining Ethnic Conflicts: Theoretical and Conceptual Perspectives 11 Wanjala S. Nasong’o 3 Deep- Seated Historical and Socioeconomic Grievances: The North- South Conflict in Sudan 21 Wanjala S. Nasong’o 4 Conflict Trajectory in Northern Uganda: Its Development and Nature 37 Joseph O. Wasonga 5 Ambiguity of the Soil, Ambiguity of Belonging: Grievance, Resource Avarice, and Conflict in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo 75 Stephen Mwachofi Singo and Sam Okoth Opondo 6 Hegemony and Counterhegemony: The Roots of the Rwandan Genocide 93 Céline A. Jacquemin 7 In Search of a Political Identity: The Historical Basis of Zanzibar’s Postcolonial Dilemma 125 Martin S. Shanguhyia vi (cid:79)(cid:3) Contents 8 The Myth of Language as a Unifying Factor: Conflict in Monolingual Rwanda and Somalia 155 Tom Onditi Luoch 9 Managing Ethnically Divided Societies: Conclusion 171 Wanjala S. Nasong’o Bibliography 183 About the Contributors 197 Index 201 Illustrations Figure 4.1 The LRA command structure: The control altar 53 Table 6.1 Power sharing in the Broad- Based Transitional Government 113 Table 6.2 Party seats in the Transitional National Assembly 113 Abbreviations AAR Agreement on Accountability and Reconciliation ADF Allied Democratic Forces ARLPI Acholi Religious Leaders’ Peace Initiative ASP Afro- Shirazi Party AU African Union BBTG Broad- Based Transitional Government CCM Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Revolutionary Party) CDR Coalition pour la Defense de la Republique CNDP Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement CUF Civic United Front DP Democratic Party DRC Democratic Republic of Congo EPM Ethnic Political Mobilization FAR Forces Armées Rwandaises FDLR Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda FEDEMU Federalist Democratic Movement of Uganda FNL National Liberation Forces FRONASA Front for National Salvation GOS Government of Sudan HRW Human Rights Watch HSMF Holy Spirit Mobile Forces HURISPEC Human Rights and Peace Center ICC International Criminal Court ICG International Crisis Group IDPs Internally Displaced Persons IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development KY Kabaka Yekka LDU Local Defense Units x (cid:79)(cid:3) Abbreviations LRA Lord’s Resistance Army MLC Mouvement de Liberation du Congo NASA National Security Agency (Uganda) NIF National Islamic Front NRM/A National Resistance Movement/Army NUP National Union Party OIC Organization of Islamic Conference RCD Rassemblement Congolaise pour la Democratie RC Revolutionary Council RPA Rwanda Patriotic Army RPF Rwanda Patriotic Front RTLM Radio and Television Milles Collines SANU Sudan African National Union SPLM/A Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement/Army TANU Tanganyika African National Union UCDA Uganda Christian Democratic Army UN United Nations UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda UNLA Uganda National Liberation Army UNOCHA United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs UNRF Uganda National Rescue Front UNSC United Nations Security Council UPC Uganda People’s Congress UPDCA Uganda Peoples’ Democratic Christian Army UPDF Uganda People’s Defense Forces UPDM/A Uganda People’s Democratic Movement/Army ZNP Zanzibar Nationalist Party ZPPP Zanzibar and Pemba People’s Party Preface Whereas the colonial enterprise created artificial states in Africa by fusing together disparate groups, it did nothing to create effective state institu- tions that would mediate the resulting conflicts between these divergent groups forced together into fragile political systems. Indeed, colonialism had nothing to do with preparation of the colonies for effective state- hood postcolonialism but everything to do with organizing extraction of resources and their transshipment to the colonial metropolises. As a result, following decolonization, African states were confronted with the dual problem of state building and nation building. Given the fragility of the political institutions inherited from colonialism, they soon ruptured in many African countries with the resultant specter of violent conflicts. Many studies on this subject conclude that postcolonial Africa has been the theater of some of the deadliest conflicts in the world, including those in Angola, the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Libe- ria, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, and Uganda, among others. Most of these conflicts are defined in ethnic, ethnoreligious, or ethnoregional terms. This study probes and explores the prevalent propensity for eth- nic political mobilization in Africa, explaining why such mobilization leads to violent conflicts. Although the cases focused on in the study are mainly from eastern and central Africa, they nevertheless speak to the realities of ethnopolitical conflicts across the continent, from Cape Town to Cairo and from Mogadishu to Dakar. Contributors to the vol- ume utilize perspectives from the humanities and social sciences to ana- lyze the case studies they focus on. The basic argument that underlies all the chapters in this volume is that ethnic political mobilization is a function of deeply felt grievances or threats, and whether such mobiliza- tion leads to violence depends on the response of incumbent regimes to mobilized groups.
The list of books you might like
