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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Wars do end!: Changing patterns of political violence in sub-Saharan Africa
Author:Straus, ScottISNI
Year:2012
Periodical:African Affairs: The Journal of the Royal African Society (ISSN 1468-2621)
Volume:111
Issue:443
Pages:179-201
Language:English
Geographic term:Subsaharan Africa
Subjects:political violence
civil wars
war
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/41494484
Abstract:Contrary to common assumption, major forms of large-scale organized political violence in sub-Saharan Africa are declining in frequency and intensity, and the region is not uniquely prone to the onset of warfare. African civil wars in the late 2000s were about half as common compared to the mid-1990s. The character of warfare has also changed. Contemporary wars are typically small-scale, fought on State peripheries and sometimes across multiple States, and involve factionalized insurgents who typically cannot hold significant territory or capture State capitals. Episodes of large-scale mass killing of civilians are also on the decline. That said, other forms of political violence that receive less attention in the academic literature are increasing or persistent. These include electoral violence and violence over access to livelihood resources, such as land and water. While primarily descriptive, the article posits that geopolitical shifts since the end of the Cold War are a leading candidate to explain the changing frequency and character of warfare in sub-Saharan Africa. Notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]
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