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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Towards containing conflict in Africa: methods, mechanisms and values
Author:Mazrui, Ali A.ISNI
Year:1995
Periodical:East African Journal of Peace and Human Rights
Volume:2
Issue:1
Pages:81-90
Language:English
Geographic term:Africa
Subjects:international politics
conflict resolution
Abstract:The most tragic conflicts in Africa have been within States. The deadliest, on balance, have been disputes about the boundaries of the political community and in particular those that have pursued a clearly secessionist agenda. The OAU has denied primary political violence legitimacy by refusing to countenance secessionism as a matter of principle. Regarding secondary political violence, which involves disagreement about the goals of the political community, the paradoxical role of democracy, which has been both a cause and a cure of conflict in Africa, raises the question as to whether or not the OAU should be strengthened with institutions which monitor the democratic process, such as a Pan-African Senate of Elders made up of former Heads of State who have voluntarily relinquished power. With the end of the Cold War, a more general collapse of law and order in some African countries is also raising the spectre of recolonization and a new 'trusteeship system'. There is need for a Pax Africana, an African peace established and enforced by Africans themselves. There is also a reservoir of specific African values - a short memory of hate, allegiance to the elder tradition, a leaning towards the oecumenical spirit, and a traditional readiness to involve women in decisions about war and peace - which can be tapped when it comes to preventing, containing or resolving conflicts. Ref.
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