Using evidence from new interviews, data collection and network mapping, a team of 10 researchers will report the extent to which political and economic decisions in African democracies are shaped by individuals or groups that are often unelected and work to subvert the formal institutions of the state to push their own interests and agendas. In a number of cases, these networks traverse national borders, either through deep ties to international companies or through integration into transnational organized criminal networks, so that significant resources are taken out of the country.
The reports also demonstrate that the extent of democracy capture varies significantly. It is relatively lower or less pronounced in countries such as Ghana, with an experience of multiple transfers of power through competitive elections, and much higher in states such as Zimbabwe where the government has never changed hands.
The shape that networks take also varies tremendously and no two shadow states are the same:. According to Professor H. The future of democracy in Africa depends on our ability to reverse this picture. They reveal that shadow states and democracy capture are the root causes of corruption, inequality and development failure. To watch the launch event on Zoom, register here.
For an interview with Professor Cheeseman, or to arrange interviews with other speakers and authors, please contact:. Democracy in Africa. Share on Facebook. Democracy Capture and the Shadow State in Africa. This presupposes that violence is not an inherent aspect of conflict but rather a potential form that conflict may take Omotosho, But then, unfolding events in world history suggest that most conflicts are violent, inflicting life- long injures on their victims apart from monumental loss of lives.
Two broad categories of conflicts have been identified. These Internal conflicts or intra- states conflict is one in which the governmental authorities of a state are opposed by groups within that state seeking to overthrow those authorities with force of arms Eminue, Internal conflict may also be seen as one in which armed violence occurs primarily within the borders of a single states David, International conflict or interstate conflicts on the other hand take place between tow or more nations and involve forces of more than one state Puchala, It is apt to observe that Africa has experienced both types of conflict over the years.
Such conflicts, which are essentially civil wars, have varying degrees of external involvement. Causes of Conflicts in Africa Conflicts in Africa may be said to have been caused by a multiplicity of factors such as: arbitrary borders created by the colonial powers, heterogeneous ethnic composition of African states, inept political leadership, corruption, negative effect of external debt burden and poverty. As currently composed, boundaries of most Africa states were arbitrarily drawn without regard to ethnic and cultural affinities.
In some cases, European boundaries forced starkly different, rival cultures to cohabit within the confines of a single state. The impacts of these borders were felt to varying degrees from one country to the other throughout Africa. Carment and the United Nations have submitted that of the over states of the world, only a small number are ethnically homogenous.
This probably suggests that multi-ethnic states are likely to continue to be a feature of international politics and that ethnic conflict is not only a threat to the African continent but also a menace to the whole international community Ryan ; Instituto Del Tercer, However, one cannot deny the fact ethno political conflicts have been on the increase in Africa throughout the 20th century.
This is probably not unconnected with the factor of ethnic diversity of most African states and the resultant problem of ethnicity. Eminue and Osaghae submit that of all the factors, multi- ethnicity is the most frequently associated with conflict. Truly, given the fact that ethnic cleavages are already deep and political discrimination against minority groups is widely practiced in Africa, ethnicity cannot but be a great potential for separatist activities.
Ethnicity has bred the feelings of suspicion, hatred and distrust among members of the various ethnic groups in Africa and has no doubt re traded political integration in Africa.
It is therefore not surprising to note that at least twice civil war and friction ethnic rivalry has been the major cause of internal conflicts in Nigeria. Given the heterogeneous composition of most African states, perhaps what they needed most are the virtues of administrative tact, political tolerance and social justice. Apart from retarding national integration and socio- economic developments, the attitudes of these rulers have sparked off widespread bloody violence. Sudanese, Nigerian, Algerian and Liberian civil wars lend credence to the fact that African leaders have failed to forge national unity in their respective countries.
Judging from the above observation, one cannot but agree with Adedeji 11 when he asserts that: what African countries have lacked during most of their history, as independent states are leaders who are unifiers, chiefs in the true sense, who bind wounds, hold everything and everyone together, mobilize and motivate their people, pursue a policy of inclusion rather than exclusion and are seen by one and all to be of the highest integrity and beyond suspicion.
The point therefore is that African leadership must be acceptable to all sections of the community if the process of integration is not to be halted. Until then, a recurrence of conflicts across Africa may continue to be a common phenomenon. Corruption, manifested in the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, has paralyzed development efforts and caused debilitating immobilize in the march towards socio-economic transformation and political integration in Africa.
This has provoked militant nationalism against Africa leaders. The result, expectedly, is the unending conflict across Africa states. The Africa Union itself acknowledges the debilitating impact of corruption on the political and socio- economic stability of Africa states. The convention is meant to, among other things, promote and strengthen the development in Africa by each state party, of mechanisms required to prevent, detect, punish and eradicate corruption in the public and private sectors.
Pp 5 Poverty Africa is one of the poorest continents of the world. This is largely due to harsh environmental conditions, corruption and huge foreign debt that exacerbate the conditions of poverty IIiffe, For instance, desertification has contributed to famines in a number of African states such as Ethiopia and Mali.
As a result, the number of people living in extreme poverty in sub- Saharan Africa grew from million in to more than million in Corbett If therefore the saying is true that a hungry man is an angry man, then conflicts may for long be a part of Africa life owing to this situation of absolute poverty prevalent across the continent. Some of these are briefly examined below. All countries coming out of conflict face major challenges of reconstruction in order to avoid a recurrence to violence.
It is needles to state that during war times, infrastructural facilities are wantonly destroyed while loyalty, patriotism and mutual relations are broken between hitherto friendly peoples and nations.
Such broken relationships must be mended to ensure lasting peace between belligerent groups while the destroyed facilities are to be replaced.
It is worthy of note that this amounts to a total waste of material resources and unnecessary dissipation of energy on unproductive ventures. This has been the general trend of events in Africa and has been retarding growth and development in the region Global Coalition, Unemployment: Wars and conflicts in Africa have combined to compound the problem of unemployment in the continent.
Today, throughout Africa, high rate of unemployment, particularly of youths, is a major source of concern. In countries coming out of conflict, many young people not only lack employment; they have also been denied education and economic empowerment because of war. For instance, in the genocide in Rwanda, Global coalition about , Rwandans were reportedly massacred. Similarly, the Burundi civil war claimed over , lives as at the year ,. But perhaps the most pathetic situation occurred in Sudan.
The civil war in Sudan has been one of the longest and costliest on the continent with an estimated two million lives lost to the war Global Coalition, It is disheartening to note that this unprecedented loss of lives in Africa as a result of wars and conflicts is having debilitating impact on human resources available to Africa.
Refugee problem: One of the attendant effects of wars and conflicts in Africa is the emergence of numerous number of displaced persons who have become refugee in different nations across the continent Instituto Del Tercer, ;Uwechue, For instance, in Liberia, the Report of the Global Coalition for Africa noted that an estimated , were internally displaced as at The spill- over effects of the Liberian conflicts were felt in neighbouring countries through increased refuges flows.
About Liberians were hosted by Nigeria at the height of the crisis while an appreciable number of them also became refuge in Guinea. In Sudan, an estimated 4. They became refugees in neighbouring countries in the region. As refugee, the affected persons have been exposed to serious risks of diseases and hunger. Indeed, the disruptive impact of war and crisis on the economy of Africa has been considerable. The political stalemate and periodic eruptions of violence have resulted in significant cumulative declines in Gross Domestic Product GDP.
This problem has been compounded by the frequent recurrence of drought in some sub- regions of Africa. Prospective investors in Africa have been turned away of fear of instability, low profit and loss of investment to looting and arson during wars.
Hence, the persistent failure to raise investment rates have translated into low GDP growth rates which had ranged between 3 and 4 percent for several years as against the 7 percent annual growth required to reduce poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals. This has promoted poverty across Africa. As at , an estimated million Africans were living below poverty line. In this wise, two major broad solutions may be experimented with to bail Africa out of recurrent conflicts and wars.
These are committed and sincere leadership and eradication of poverty. This can be done in a number of ways: i Even distribution of resources African leaders must ensure an even distribution of resources among the various geo-political zones in their countries. This involves equal access to justice by all citizens irrespective of their status, respect for court decisions by the government and influential, and conduct of free and fair periodic elections among others.
When and where leaders promote the rule of law as indicated above, there are a guarantee of peaceful coexistence among people and a peaceful transition of power from one government to the other. Succession dispute related conflicts that are very rampant in Africa may thus be easily eliminated. In particular, the fundamental rights of freedom of speech, association and religion should be guaranteed. People should be free to assess and criticize the performance of government without fear of persecution.
Opposition must be tolerated while the fourth realm of government, the press, must not be censured. Pp always be kept on her toes to provide qualitative and sincere leadership in their countries. A poor man, who has been economically humiliated and financially traumatized may not be said to be in his right senses. Hence, it may be apt to observe that a hungry man is a mad man. He can steal, kill, maim and destroy. Poverty can demean a man and affect his psychology negatively.
Hence a major policy instrument for peace and stability in Africa that is riddled with wars and conflicts is the eradication or at worst, a reduction of the monster of poverty. This can be achieved in a number of ways as suggested below: i Equal access to qualitative education Governments in Africa should give their citizens equal access to qualitative education. The importance of education to the socio- economic development of a nation has been well articulated in the Millennium Development Goal.
Education, no doubt, is a lever to human and societal development.
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