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Viol
entConf
li
ctsandCi
vi
lSt
ri
fei
nWestAf
ri
ca:
Causes,
Chal
l
engesandPr
ospect
s

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Vi
olentConf
li
ctsandCi
vi
lSt
ri
fei
nWestAf
ri
ca:
Causes,
Chal
l
engesandPr
ospect
s

Aut
hor
:NancyAnnan

Abst
ract

Theadv entofi ntra-stateconf l

ictsor‘ newwar s’inWestAf ri
cahasbr oughtmanyofi ts
economi est othebr inkofcol lapse, creatinghumani tari
ancasual ti
esandconcer ns.Fordecades,
countri
essuchasLi beria,SierraLeone, Côt ed’Ivoi
reandGui nea-Bissauwer ecri
ppledby
confl
ictsandci vi
lstrifeinwhi chv iolenceandi ncessantkilli
ngswer epr evalent.Whi l
ev iolent
confl
ictsar edecl iningi nt hesub- region,r ecentinsurgenciesi ntheSahel regi onaffectingt he
WestAf ricancount r
iesofMal i,NigerandMaur it
aniaandl owi nt
ensityconf li
ctssurgingwi thi
n
notablyst ablecount riessuchasGhana, NigeriaandSenegal sendsal armi ngsi gnal
soft he
possiblere- surfacingofi nternal andr egional vi
olentconf l
icts.Theseconf lictsareof t
enhi nged
onsev eral factorsincl udingpov er ty,humanr i
ghtsv i
olati
ons, badgov er nanceandcor ruption,
ethni
cmar ginali
zationandsmal l armspr olifer
ation.Althoughmanyact orsi ncl
udingt he
ECOWAS, civilsociet yandi nternat ional communi t
yhav ebeenmaki ngef forts,confli
ctscont i
nue
topersisti nt hesub- regionandt heirr esolutionisof tenprotracted.Thi spaperposi tsthatt he
poorunder standingoft hef undament alcausesofWestAf ri
ca’sviolentconf li
ctsandci vilstri
fe
wouldl i
kel ycauset hesub- regiont ocont inueexper iencingandsuf f
eringt hebr untofthese
v
iol
entwar
s.

HowtoCit
e:Annan,N.
,2014.Vi ol
entConf l
ict
sandCiv
ilSt
ri
feinWestAf
ri
ca:
Causes,
Chal
l
engesandProspects.Stabil
i
ty:
Internati
onal
Jour
nalofSecur
it
yandDevel
opment
,3(
1),
p.
Art
.3.DOI:
htt
p://
doi.
org/10.5334/st
a.da

67350

Vi
ews

4883

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Publ
i
shedon28Jan2014PeerRev
iewedCCBY4.
0

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thet ransfor
mat i
onf r
om inter-statetointra-
stateconfl
i
ctf r
om thelatterpartoft he20t h
Cent uryi
nWestAf r
icabroughtanumberofi t
seconomi estonearcol l
apse.Asar esult, t
hesub-
region’ssecur i
tyenvir
onmenthasof t
enbeenv i
ewedasonet hatcontinuestobepr ecar i
ousand
unstable.Althoughconf li
ctsar enotal way svi
olent,t
hosethathav eplaguedWestAf ricaat
communi t
y ,
st ateandregional levelshavebeenchar acteri
zedbyv iol
ence( Afi
si 2009: 59–66).
Fordecades, countri
essuchasLi beri
a,Sierr
aLeone, Côted’I
voireandGui nea-Bissauwer e
cri
ppl edbyconf li
ctsandci vi
l stri
feinwhi chviol
enceandi ncessantkil
lingswer epr eval ent
(Afolabi2009: 24).Whileviolentconf l
ictsaredecli
ninginthesub- r
egion, r
ecentinsur genci esi
n
theSahel r
egionaf f
ect i
ngt heWestAf r
icancount r
iesofMal i
,NigerandMaur i
taniasends
alarmi ngsignal
soft hepossi blere-surfacingofi nter
nal andregionalvi
olentconfl
icts.Mor e
crit
ical t
oaddi sthel owi ntensityconf l
ictssurgingwi thinnotablystabl
ecountriessuchast he
Casamanceconf l
ictinSenegal ,theintermi t
tentDagbonchi eft
aincycri
sisinGhanaandt he
NigerDel taconfli
ctinNi geri
at onameaf ew( Olonisakin2011: 11–26).Theseconf l
ictshav e
resultedint he‘
destruct i
onofl i
vesandpr operty,theinternaldispl
acementofpeopl e, aregion-
wider efugeecrisi
s, pov ertyanddi sease, t
hepr olif
erationofsmal larmsandl i
ghtweapons,
humananddr ugtrafficking,il
legal expl
oitati
onofnat uralresourcesandbanditry’(
Af olabi2009:
25).

Endi ngv iolentconf l

ictsinWestAf ri
car emai nsoneoft hemai nchal lengesoft hesub- r
egion.
Thisi spossi blyat tri
but edt ot hesuddenshi ftfrom i nt er-
st atet oi nt ra-stateconf l
ictst hat
char act er izedmostpar toft hel at e1980st hrought ot he21stcent ur yposi nganewchal l
engeof
i
nt ra-st at epeaceconsol i
dat ionandconf lictpr ev ent ion.Par ticul arf oranumberofact ors
i
ncl udi ngt hesub- regional bloc, theEconomi cCommuni t
yofWestAf ri
canSt ates( ECOWAS)
whi chwassetupt obui ldeconomi ci ntegr at i
on( Jay eetal 2011: 1–7) .Nev ertheless, overthe
year s, st ates, t
heECOWAS, CivilSoci etygr oupsandt heI nter nat ional Communi tyhav etaken
measur est or esolv eandendv iolentconf lict sint hesub- r egion.Exampl escanbeci t
edof
ECOWAS’ ti
mel yresponset ot hev i
olentci v ilwar st hater upt edi nLi ber i
aandSi erraLeonei n
1989and1991r espect i
velyt hrought hedepl oy mentoft heECOWASMoni toringGr oup
(ECOMOG)( Jay eetal 2011: 1–7) .Despi tet heseef for tswhi chhav eachi evedsomeappr eciabl
e
success, thecr adleofpeaceandst abilit
yi nt hesub- regionr emai nsbr it
tleandt hepossi bi l
i
tyof
ar esur genceofseemi nglyendedconf li
ctsi shi gh. 1But t
ressi ngt hel at t
erist heexampl eof
WestAf rica’sf i
rstRepubl icst ate, Liber i
a, wher et hecount ryr el apsedi ntoasecondci vilwarin
1999af terECOWASCeasef irei nterv entionendedt hef ir
stci vil wari n1996. 2I nt heper i
od
bet ween2010and2011, Côt ed’ Ivoireal mostpl ungedbacki nt oci v i
l waraf teri t
sdi sput ed
Nov ember2010el ect ionledt ov iolentconf ront at i
onsbet weenl oy alistsoft henPr esident
Laur entGbagboandopposi ti
onAl assaneOuat t
ar acl aimi ngt hel iv esofov er3000I v oiri
ansand
displ aci ngmany( BBCNewsAf r
ica2011) .Thesef ewexampl esr aisequest ionsont hecapaci ty
andmechani smsusedt oresol v econf li
ctsi nWestAf ricaandt heef fect i
venessoft hese
mechani smst oensur esust ainabl epeacei nt hesub- r
egion.Thepaperposi t sthatf ai l
uret o
i
dent ifyandt horoughl yaddr esst hef undament al causesofWestAf rica’sv i
ol entconf li
ctsand
civilst rifewoul dlikel ycauset hesub- regiont ocont inueexper ienci ngandsuf fer i
ngt hebr untof
thesev iolentwar s.Agai nstt hi sbackgr ound, theaut horat tempt st osuppor tdi scour seson
violentconf l
ictsandci vilstrifeinWestAf ri
cabyf irstgi vi
nganov er viewofv iolentconf li
ctsand
civilst rifei nthesub- region; ident ifyingandexpat i
at ingont hecausesoft heseconf licts;
elabor at eonexi stingi ni
tiatives; ident ifyi
ngchal lengesi mpedi ngef for t
st owar dsendi ng
conf lictsi nthesub- region; andf inallyconcl udi ngwi thpr ospect sf orf utureconf li
ctr esol uti
on.
Concept
ual
i
zingConf
li
ctsandWarEndi
ngi
nWestAf
ri
ca

Theconcept uali
zat i
onofconf li
ctsandwarendi ngi sdy nami candconst ant l
yev olving
particularlyint hepost -coldwarer a.Wi t
ht hepar adi gmat i
cshi ftf r
om i nter-statet oi nt
ra-st ate
conf li
cts, manyl iteratur eshav edi fferentdef ini
tionsandconcept sofconf l
ictandi t
sr esol ut i
on.
ToBer nar dMay er( 2000)conf l
i
ct scanbeexpl ainedt hroughat hree-dimensi onal l
ens.Thati s
‘
conf l
i
ctasper cept i
on, ’‘
conf li
ctasf eel i
ng’ and‘conf lictasact ion.’ Asaper cept ion,May er
i
dent i
fi
est hatconf lictisof tent heconv i
ctiont hat‘one’ sownneeds, i
nter ests, want s,orv alues
arei ncompat i
blewi thsomeoneel se’ s’(May er2000) .Asaf eeling, conf l
ictcanbeexpr essed
throughsev eralemot ionsi ncluding‘ fear ,anger ,bitterness, sadness, hopel essness’ orthe
combi nationoft hese( May er2000) .Fi nally,May erhi ghl ightst hatconf l
ictinv olvesact i
ons
whi chmaybe‘ vi
ol entordest r
uctive’ (May er2000) .Tot heECOWAS, conf li
cti sdef i
nedas
‘
cont radict i
onsi nher enti npowerr elationsandwhi chmani f
estt hemsel vesi ni ndivi
dual and
groupi nteractionswi thoneanot herandwi t
hnat urei nt hepur suitofl i
mi tedr esour cesor
oppor tuni t
ies’ (
ECPF2008) .Fort hepur posesoft hisar ticle,conf li
ctcoul dbeseenasav i
ol ent
expr essionofdi sagr eement sandf r
ust rationof tenar isingf rom unmetneedsandaspi rations.
Asi ndicat edear lier,whi leconf l
ictsar enotal way sv iolent ,theonest hathav eaf fectedWest
Africahav ebeenchar acterizedbyv iolenceandbr utal it
y.Whi l
et heconcept ual i
zationofl ow
i
ntensi tyconf l
icts( LIC)r emai nsuncl ear ,
thisar ti
cler efer stoLI Caspr ol onged, subt l
ey etst aid
alt
er cat i
onsbet weendi fferentgr oupsof tenwi thsoci o-economi c, poli
tical andmi li
tary
i
ntent ions.LI Chast hepot ent i
al ofer upt i
ngi ntof ull-blownconf lictifunr esolv ed.

Invari
ably,conf l
ictsinWestAf ri
cahav ebeennot ablyf uelledbymul t
ipleinterrelatedcausal
factor
sincl udingpov ert
y,humanr ightsv i
olati
ons, badgov er
nanceandcor ruption,ethnic
mar gi
nalizationandsmal larmspr oli
ferat
ion(Fithen1999; Vozdi PazandI nterpeace2010;
Vincketal 2011; Keil
i2008).Whiletheabov ecausesper sist
,someoft heconf l
ictsthathav e
occurredi nthesub- r
egi
onhav ebeenl i
nkedt ocer t
aint ri
gger swhichof teni gnitetheupr isi
ngs.
Accordingt oECOWAS, asdef i
nedi nitsConf l
ictPrev entionFr amewor k2008, theset ri
ggersare
associatedwi t
hsuddenhappeni ngst hatarouset ensi onsof tenleadingtov iolentconf l
icts
(ECPF2008) .Forexampl e, t
he2012coupd’ étatinMal iwasr eportedlytri
gger edbyt hel ackof
supportfrom t heTr aoréregimetot heMal ianar myt ohandl etheTuar egr ebelli
oni nJanuar y
2012whi chl edt ot hedeathofsev eralnati
onal soldiers( Chew2012) .

Endingwarorconf l
ictsespeci all
yi nWestAf ri
cahasbeenqui teachallengeduet oitscompl ex
multi-
causal f
actors,mul t
ipl
eact orsandt henat ureoftheconfli
ct;
oftencontributi
ngt o
prol
ongingt heconf l
ict.JamesFear on(2002),inhisarti
cle‘
Whydosomeci v
il warslastso
muchl ongerthanot her s?,’i
denti
fiedthatalthoughcoup- rel
atedcivi
lwarsareof tenbrief,
‘sons
ofthesoil’
(oftenledbyi nsurgentandr ebelgroups)t endtobelongeranddi f
ficultt
or esolve
becausetheyof tenhi ngedonet hnicfragment ationandundemocr ati
cleadership.Furthermore,
Fearonexplainedthatt
helatt
ertendstobepr ot
ractedbecauset hebelli
gerentgroupsexpectto
gai
nmi l
itarysupremacyoruseviolencetoacquir
efav ourableagreements(Fearon2002) .
Evi
dentl
y, t
henat ur
eofcivi
lwarsinWestAf r
icahast akent heform ofei
thercoupsd’étator
i
nsurgency.Whi l
etheformerhaveof t
enbeenshor t
-li
ved( eg.MaliandGuinea-Bi
ssaucoupsi n
2012),t
hel at
terhoweverhavebeenpr ot
ract
ed(eg.Li ber
ia,Sier
raLeone,andNor ther
nMal i)
.

Vi
olentConf
li
ctsandCi
vi
lSt
ri
fei
nWestAf
ri
ca

WestAf r
icahasbeengr appli
ngwithv i
olentconfl
i
ctsandcivilst
ri
fefordecades,however,t
he
per
iodsbetweent he1980sandt he1990sl eadingtothenewmi ll
ennium pr
esentedmor e
vi
olentandprotr
actedconfli
ctswhichdest abi
li
zedmanyofi tseconomi es(
AningandBah2009;
UNSCRepor t2011).Notablecountri
esthatplungedintovi
olentconfl
ictdur
ingthatper
iod
i
ncludeLiber
ia,
SierraLeone,Guinea-Bi
ssauandCôt ed’Iv
oir
e( AningandBah2009) .

Pastconf
li
cts

Liberi
apl ungedi ntoi tsf i
rstv i
olentci vil wari nDecember1989wi tht heinv asionofChar l
es
Tay l
or’sNat i
onal Pat ri
ot i
cFr ontofLi ber ia(NPFL) .3Tay lor’sr ebelli
on, whi chsoughtt o
overthrowt heaut ocr aticandr epressi ver uleoft henPr esi dentSamuel Doe, notonl ysucceeded
withhi sascensi ont opoweri nt he1997el ections, butal sor esultedi ntheout breakofav i
olent
seven- yearci vi
l war( Vincketal 2011) .In1996, wi ththesuppor toft heECOMOG, violencewas
abatedl eadi ngt oaceasef ire.Nev er thel ess,thisseemi ngpeacewasshor t-l
ivedasl ongstanding
andsi mmer i
nget hnict ensi ons, cor rupt ion,subj ugat i
onandabj ectpov ert
yoft hepeopl ethrust
thecount rybacki nt oasecondci vil wari n1999; twoy ear saf terTay lorwasel ectedi ntoof fi
ce
aspr esident( KiehandKl ay2009) .Dur ingt heensui ngf i
v e-y earcivilwar ,thecount rywas
besiegedbyv iolentconf ront ationsbet weenTay lor’sNPFL, theLi beriansUni t
edf or
Reconci liati
onandDemocr acy( LURD)andt heMov ementf orDemocr acyi nLiberia( MODEL)
untilthesi gningofaCompr ehensi vePeaceAgr eementi n2003l edt ot heat tainmentof
appreciabl epeaceandst abilityinLi ber i
a( Vincketal 2011) .Byt heendoft hesecondci vilwar,
therewer erepor tedhi ghcasesofr apeandt or t
ur e,hi
ghdeat hrates, destruct i
onofbasi c
i
nf r
ast r
uct ureandser vices, mal nutritionandabout21, 000chi l
dsol dierst odisar m and
demobi l
ize( Vincketal 2011) .The2009r epor toft heLi ber ianTr uthandReconci l
iation
Commi ssi on( TRC)i ndi catedt hat250, 000peopl ewer eki lledi ntheal most14- yearconf li
ctand
onemi l
liondi splaced( LTRC2009) .Subsequent l
y ,i
n2010, thecount ryr eportedlyr anked162of
169count ri
esi ntheHumanDev elopmentI ndex ,maki ngi toneoft hepoor estcount riesinthe
wor l
d( Vincketal 2011) .

Twoy
ear
saf
tert
heout
breakofci
vi
lwari
nLi
ber
ia,
viol
entci
vi
lconf
li
ctal
soer
upt
edi
n
neighbour i
ngSi erraLeonei n1991hi ngedonacoupl edbyFodaySankoh’ sRev olut i
onar yUnited
Front( RUF)r ebelgr oupagai nstPr esidentMomoh’ sregime( Richards2003) .Clashesbet ween
theGhaddaf iandTay l
orsuppor tedRUFandt heincumbentr esult
edinov eradecadel ong
violentconf li
ctwhi chwasof ficiall
ydecl aredov erinFebr uar y2002.Theconf l
ict,arisingf rom
corrupt i
on, badgov ernance, soci al i
nj usti
ce, andbr eakdownofdemocr aticinstit
ut i
onsr esul
ted
i
nt heki ll
ingof50, 000peopl e, andt hedest ructionofi nfrastructureaswel lasot herper ti
nent
soci al services( Kar gbo2002) .Simi lar l
y,Guinea- Bi
ssauandCôt ed’I
voireexper i
encedv i
olent
civi
l conf li
ct sin1998and2002r espect i
vely.Likeot herWestAf ri
canstates,Gui nea- Bissau’s
histor yischar acterizedwi t
hper iodicconf li
ctshowev er ;
the‘ 7thJuneWar ’in1998pushedt he
formerPor tuguesecol onyint oav iolentci vilstri
fe(Vozdi PazandI nterpeace2010) .The11-
mont hconf li
ctwhi chendedon7May1999, l
edbyBr igadierAnsumaneMane, wassupposedl y
causedbyweapont rafficki
ngi nnei ghbor i
ngSenegal fortheCasamancei ndependence
mov ement ,cor r
upt ionandhumanr ight sabuse.Li keal lviolentconfli
cts,casual t
ieswer e
recor dedasi tclai
medt helivesoft housandsandent renchedpov er
tyinthecount ry( Vozdi Paz
andI nterpeace2010) .Despit eenj oy ingt urbulentpeaceov erthepastt eny earsaf terthe1998
conf lict,char acteri
zedbyper iodi cpol it
icalcrisi
s, t
hecoupd’ étatinApril2012whi chl edt othe
arrestofPr i
meMi nisterCar losGomesJúni orthreatenedt hesecur i
tyandal readyf r
agi l
epeace
oft hissmal l WestAf ricanst ate( Cr i
si sGr oup2012) .

Furthermor e,thecivi
lconf l
ictthatpl aguedCôt ed’ I
voire,t
heone- timeeconomi cpowerhouse
andt hebeaconofst abilit
yinWestAf r
icacannotbeov erl
ooked.Deepl yroot edi net hni
c-
reli
giousdi vi
sionsandi dent i
tyaggr av atedbypol iti
csofexcl usi
on, thecount r
yer uptedintof ull
-
fl
edgedci v i
lstri
feinSept ember2002( Ogwang2011) .
4Fol lowingt heexpl osionoft hecivil stri
fe
i
nt oav iolentconf l
ict,severalpeacei niti
ativeswer eadopt edbutf ail
edtor esolv etheconf licti n
Côt ed’Ivoireunt i
lthesuccessf ul si
gni ngoft heOuagadougoupeaceaccor di n2007r estor ed
peaceandst abili
tyinthecount ry( Ogwang2011: 6).Wi t
ht hreey earsofr elati
vepeacei nt he
count ry,I
v oir
ianswer er eadytot aket othepol lsinNov ember2010, acriti
cal electionwhi chwas
anticipatedt oconsol i
dat ethepeacet hecount r
yhadenj oy edanduni fyit
sst r
atifi
edpopul at i
on.
Mucht ot heirchagr i
n,thecount rynear l
yr elapsedbacki ntoav i
ol entciv
ilwaraf terthedisput ed
electionsl edt oav i
olentconf ront ationbet weenloy al
istsofi ncumbentLaur entGbagboand
mai nopposi ti
onAl assaneOuat tar a( Ogwang2011) .Thef ollowingf iv
e-mont hbat t
leledtot he
deat hofov er3000peopl eandt hedi splacementofmany .5

Pr
esentandemer
gingconf
li
cts

Generall
y,eventhoughthereisadeclineinlar
gescaleviolentconfl
i
ctandcivilst
ri
fe,pocketsof
si
mmer i
ngtensions,i
nsurgencyandt her
e-emergenceofcoupsd’ étatconti
nuestot r
oublethe
sub-
region.Forexamplether ecentcoupsd’ét
atinGuinea-BissauandMal i
;i
nsurgencyinthe
Sahelregi
onaf f
ectingWestAf ri
cancountri
esofMali,NigerandMaur it
ania,
aswel laslow-scal
e
conf l
ict sinnot ablystablecount ri
esl ikeGhana, Senegal andNi geriaf urthermakest hesub-
regioncapr i
ci ousandpr onet omor ev i
olentconf li
cts(Gilmour2012; Ol onisaki n2011) .Si nce
gainingi ndependencei n1960f rom t heFr ench, Mal i
,Af r
ica’st hirdlargestgol dpr oducer
sufferedsev er alcoupsandet hni ctensi onsunt il attai
ningmul t ipartydemocr acyi n1992wi th
theel ect ionofPr esidentAl phaKonar e(BBCNewsAf rica2012a) .Nev er theless, thedemocr acy
andr elat ivest abili
tyinthecount rywasnott ol ast ,asther e-
sur facingofv iolentconf li
cti nthe
northbyt heNat ionalMov ementf ort heLi berationofAzawad( MNLA)Tuar egr ebel sandAl -
Qaedai nt heI slamicMagr eb( AQI M)i n2007andt hecoupd’ étati n2012r esul t
edi nkillings,
massf orceddi splacementofci v i
li
ansdest abilizingMal i
’spol iti
cal tr
anqui lli
ty(Gi lmour2012;
BBCNewsAf rica2012a) .
6Fur thermor e,therecentBokoHar am i nsur gencyi nnor t
hernNi geria,
whichhi ngeduponr eli
gionandeconomi cdepr ivat i
on,alsoposessecur ityconcer nsi nt hesub-
region.Si ncei tsemer gencei n2002, theBokoHar am insur gencyhast akenmanyl ives,
displacedsev eralthousandanddest royedst atepr operty( Wal ker2012) .Trav ell
ingt ot hesout h
ofNi ger ia, t
hepr ol
ongedNi gerDel taconf li
ctov eroi lhasf urthercompoundedt hei nsecur i
ti
esi n
WestAf rica’smostpopul ousnat i
on.TheNi gerDel taconf li
cthasl edt osev eralkidnappi ngof
expat riates, casual ti
esandt heincr easeduseofsophi sticatedweaponr yi nt her egionbymi lit
ant
groupssuchast heMov ementf ortheEmanci pat ionoft heNi gerDel ta( MEND)t hereby
height eni ngi nsecur i
tywi t
hint hecount ryandacr ossthesub- regi on( Ejibunu2007) .

CausesofConf
li
ctsi
nWestAf
ri
ca

Ther
ootofviol
entconfl
i
ctsandci
vi
lst
ri
feinWestAfr
icaisl
i
nkedtosever
alcompl
exf
act
ors.I
n
hi
sart
icl
e,‘
Confl
ictandPeacei
nWestAfr
ica,
’Cy
bilObii
dent
ifi
est
hat:

Therootsofconfl
icti
nWestAf r
icaaremuchdeeperandcompl ex,andareembeddedi
nthe
i
nter
playofhistor
ical
fact
ors,
socio-economiccri
sis,l
egaci
esofaut hor
it
ari
ani
sm andt
he
pol
it
icsofexclusi
on,i
nter
nati
onalforces,andl
ocal st
ruggl
es(
Obi 2012).

Admi ttedly,whil
et heafor
ementionedconsti
tut
et hebr oadercausalfactor
s, embeddedwi t
hin
andr elatedtothem ar ebadgovernanceandcor r
upti
on, humanr ight
sv iol
ations,pover
ty,
ethnic
mar ginali
zationandsmal lar
msandl i
ghtweaponspr olif
erati
on(amongot hers),whi
chcontinue
toser veast ri
ggersanddr i
versofviol
entconfl
ict
sint hesub- r
egi
on.Ev enthought hereare
several otherspecifi
ccausesofv i
olentconf
li
ctsandci vilst
ri
feinWestAf rica,thepaperwil
l
focusondi scussingtheaforementi
oned.

Badgov
ernanceandcor
rupt
ion
Post -col onialruleofWestAf r
icancount rieshasbeenf r
aughtwi thsev eralchallenges.El ement al
amongt hem ar et heissuesofbadgov ernanceandcor r
uption.Followingi ndependence, sev eral
regimesacr osst hesub- regionhav emi smanagedst ateresour cesandweakenedgov ernance
i
nst it
ut ionswhi chhasr esultedi neconomi cstalemat e,poli
ticalapprehensi onsandbr eakdown
ofsoci al peaceandst abili
ty.Today ,t
heset winfactorsconst itut
eamaj orcauseofv iolent
conf li
ct sandci vilstr
ifeinWestAf ri
ca.Sev eralscholarlywor ksonconf l
ictsint hesub- r
egi on
havei dent i
fiedbadgov ernanceandcor r
upt i
onast heunder pinningfactorsf uelli
ngand
renewi ngv iolencei nWestAf r
ica.Conf l
ictsinNi geri
a, Guinea-Bissau,SierraLeone, Liberia, Côte
d’I
voi reandot herWestAf r
icancount ri
esnot ablyhingeuponbadgov ernanceandcor rupt ion.
Fori nst ance, intheSi erraLeoneanwar ,itwasi dentifi
edt hatbadgov ernance, corruptionand
pov ertywer et her ootcausesoft heconf l
ict(Fit
hen1999) .Addi ti
onall
y, r
esearchconduct edi n
LiberiabyPat rickVinck, PhuongPham andTi noKreut zerin2011i ndicatedt hatmaj orit
yoft he
popul at i
on( 64percent )identifi
ed, amongot herfactors,greedandcor rupt i
onast hecauseof
theLi ber ianci vil
war( Vi ncketal 2011).

Corrupt i
oni nWestAf r
ica’smostpopul ousnation, Nigeria,hasbeenhi ghli
ght edasoneoft he
under l
iningf act orsi ntheNi gerDel t
aconf li
ctandt hemor er ecent ,yetverypr onounced, Boko
Haram i nsur gency( Eji
bunu2007; Brock2012) .Ironi cally
, t
heNi gerDel taregi ont houghblessed
withthel ar gestoi lr
esour ceinNi geriai salsothepoor estr egioni nt hecount ry.Thisisperhaps
attr
ibutabl et othehi ghcor r
upt ionatt henat i
onal level whichdoesnotgi veoppor tuni
tyforoil
weal t
ht ot rickledownt otheor di nary‘ Delt
arians’ andt helar gerNi gerianpopul ati
on.In2003f or
exampl e, theNi ger ianAnt i-
Cor rupt i
onAgency ,theEconomi candFi nancial CrimeCommi ssion
(EFCC)r epor tedlyest i
mat edt hat70percentoft heoi learnings, const it
utingov erUS$14bi l
li
on
wasst olenandwast ed( Eji
bunu2007) .Repor t
edl y, t
hemaj or i
tyoft heper pet ratorsofcorrupti
on
i
nNi ger i
ai ncludesenat ors,mini sters,commi ssi oner sandi ndividualswi thhi gherconnect i
onsi n
thepol i
tical play ground( Eji
bunu2007) .7Inaf f
irmi ngt hel i
nkagebet weencor rupt i
onand
viol
encei nNi ger ia’
sNi gerDel ta, HassanTai Eji
bunu( 2007)i ndicat esthat‘ seeingmoney
comi ngf rom t heFeder al Gover nment ,onear ningsoncr udeoi lsales, wit
hessent i
all
ynoneofi t
reachingt heor dinar ypeople,hascr eat edcondi tionf orinsur rection’(Eji
bunu2007) .

Likewise,i
nasmal lcount ryli
keGui nea-Bi ssau, badgov er
nanceandcor rupti
onar edeepl y
entrenchedinthesoci al,polit
ical,judicial andeconomi csystem leadingtobitterpent -up
feeli
ngsamongt helocal popul ationwhi char esomet imesexpressedt hroughv i
olence( Vozdi
PazandI nterpeace2010) .Intheir2010j ointrepor tonthe‘RootCausesofConf li
cti nGuinea-
Bissau:TheVoi cesoft hePeopl e,’Vozdi PazandI nter
peace,i
nter nat
ionalnon-gov ernmental
andpeace- buil
dinginstit
ut i
ons, chroni cl
edt hev oicesoflocalci
ti
zensofGui nea-Bissauon
i
ssuesofcor r
uptionandconf lict.Someci tizenswer equotedsay ing:
ThePresi
dentsteals.TheGovernorsteal
s.Theminist
erandeventhePrimeMini
sterst
eal.The
admini
str
atorsteal
s.Whowi llnotsteal
?Thecountryi
sbeingdestroy
edbythePresi
dent.I
twas
ther
ethatthedestr
uctionbegan.IfthePresi
dentt
akestwenty
-fourbi
ll
on(CFA)
,whatisleft
?
(VozdiPazandI nt
erpeace2010: 52).

Anot
herex
pressedt
hat
:

Thehealt
hcent r
esdonothav eanythi
ng;pati
entshav enobedandnosheet s.Theleader
sgot o
buil
dbuil
dings.I
tisnotthepeoplet
hatar espoil
ingthem.Thepeopl
eareuni t
ed,buttheStat
e
doesnotwantourunity.Theyarepi
t t
ingusagainsteachother
.Wear etol
d,`Thatpersoni
snot
worthanyt
hing.Thatl
ineageisnotwor t
hany t
hing.
’Sowef i
ghtwhil
etheywi l
lsi
tandeat
toget
her,
laughandclap( VozdiPazandI nt
erpeace2010:52).

Clear
lyift
heabov ement i
onedpersi
stsandremainsunr
esol
vedi
tcouldi
ncreaset
helikeli
hood
formoreviolentconf
li
ctsandciv
ilst
rif
erathert
hanendi
ngthem andbui
l
dingsust
ainablepeace
i
nt hesub-r
egion.

Humanr
ight
svi
olat
ions

Inci
dencesofhumanr ightsabusesandv i
olati
onsar enumer ousi nWestAf ri
caandassucht hi
s
formst hebasi sfort heerupt i
onandr enewal ofv i
olentconf li
ctsandci vilst ri
feint hesub- region.
Acrosst hesub- r
egi on,therear erepor tedi nci
dencesofsexual andgender -basedv iolence,
repri
sal ki
ll
ings, beat i
ngs, i
mpuni t
yf orst ateof f
ici
alsandi nstitutions,highsoci al i
njust i
ce,
repressiveandbr utal l
eader ship,andunequal dist
r i
but
ionofst ater esour cesamongot hers
(HRW 2003) .Alltheseser veasbot htrigger sandconsequencesofwar .Fori nst ancei nNi ger i
a,
viol
ationsoft hehumanr i
ght sofl ocalci ti
zensunder scoreasoneoft hef act orscausi ngt he
mi l
i
tancyi ntheNi gerDel taregion( Eji
bunu2007: 17).Manyoft heoi lcompani esint her egi on
arerepor t
edt obecausi ngenv ironment alpolluti
onandeconomi cmar ginalizationwhi l
et he
statesupinel ylookson.Aspeci fi
cex ampl eisthe1992ki l
li
ngsofy outhf rom Bonny ,alocal
communi ty,dur i
ngapeacef uldemonst rationagai nstt
heecol ogi calpollutionand
mar ginali
zationcausedbyShel lCompany( Bri
sibe2001) .Unf ortunately,thest atesecur i
ty
i
nst i
tuti
onssuppor ttheseoi lcompani est ov i
olatetheright sofi tsownci tizensaswast hecase
i
nJanuar y1993when300, 000Ogoni pr otestorswhower ehar assed, arrest edandki ll
edby
Feder algovernmentt r
oopswhendemonst rati
ngpeacef ullyagai nstShel loi lforenv ir
onment al
poll
ut i
onandeconomi cmar ginali
zat i
on( Ejibunu2007: 17) .
InGui nea- Bissauaswel l,theimpuni t
yf orhumanr ight
sabusebyst ateof f
ici
alsinpartl edtothe
viol
entconf lictthatdestabil
izedthecount ryin1998( Vozdi PazandI nterpeace2010) .Local
author it
iesar eof t
enaccusedofengagi nginbeat i
ngsandoppr essionoft helocalciti
zens
creatingacul t
ureof‘Mat chundade’8(aggr essi
vebehav i
ours)whi chbredmaj orconf l
ictwi t
h
brutal consequences( Vozdi PazandI nter
peace2010) .Duet othecont inuousexistenceof
theser epr essiveactsagai nsttheciti
zensandamonget hni
cgr oups,ev enafterthe1998ci vi
l
war, Guinea- Bissauseemst obesi tti
ngonaboi l
ingpotoftensionswhi ch, unresol
ved, could
explodei ntoanot hervi
olentconf l
ictaswasmi l
dlywi t
nessedint he2010mut inyandt her ecent
April2012coupd’ ét
at(ZenoumenouandOkeke2012) .

Mor eov er,humanr ight sv iolationsi nseemi nglyst ableWestAf ricancount r

iessuchasThe
Gambi aandEquat orial Gui neaar ei ncr easi nglycreat ingpr ecar ioussituat i
onsf ori nst abil
ity.
Althought hesecount rieshav enotex periencedl arge- scal ev iolentconf lictsinr ecentt i
mesas
theirneighbour shav e, thebr ut al
, undemocr ati
c,unequal andaut hori
tativer ul
ebyi ncumbent
regimesi scr eati
ngt ensi onswhi ch, unr esol ved,couldbr ingt hecount riest oaboi li
ngpoi ntof
violentwarandci vilstrife.The2011Fr eedom Houser epor tont he‘Wor stoft heWor st:The
Wor l
d’sMostRepr essi veSoci eti
es’ namedEquat orial Gui neaandCôt ed’ I
voireaspar toft he20
mostr epressedsoci etiesi nt hewor ld( Freedom House2011) .9TheTeodor oObi angNguema
Mbasogor egimei nEquat or i
al Gui neaf orexampl e,isnotonl yaccusedofper vasivecor rupti
on
butal sor i
fehumanr i
ght sabusesi ncludi ngdet entionofpol itical opponent s,tor t
ur e,
extrajudicialki
ll
ings, i
nter ferencei nt hej udicialsystem, di sregar dforruleofl aw, wi despr ead
violenceagai nstwomenandi mpuni tyofsecur i
tyfor ces( Freedom House2011: 14; USDS2011) .
Simi l
arly,thegov er
nmentofAl haji Yay haJammehofTheGambi ai
saccusedofsi mi larhuman
ri
ght sabusesandv iolations( USDS2011) .Asst atedear li
er ,althought hesev iolationshav enot
resultedinv iol
entconf l
ictsi nt hesecount ri
es, t
heirlinkagest opol i
ti
cal andi nternal t
ensi onsin
bothcount ri
escannotbeov erlooked( McSher ry2006) .
10Fori nstance, since1994, Yay ha
Jammeh’ s19-yearregi mehasexper i
encedov erfourat tempt edcoupsandsev er al t
ensi ons
(BBCNewsAf ri
ca2012b) .

Pov
ert
y

Povertyalsost andstobeoneoft hemajorset backsinWestAf ri

caandt hecont i
nentofAf ri
ca.
Accordingt othe2012UNDPHumanDev el
opmentr eportnearl
yhal fofsub- SaharanAf r
icans
l
iveinpov erty(UNDP2012) .Consequent l
y,thepov ert
ythatmanyacr ossthecont inentendure
canbeseent obeoneoft hemaj orcontr
ibutingfactorstotheoccur r
enceofv i
olentconfli
ctsin
Afri
ca.Liket herestofAfr
ica,theWestAf ri
casub- regionisneitherimmunet ot hepov er
ty
cankernori gnorantofi
tsimpactont hei
rfragil
epeaceandst abili
ty.Wi t
hov er60percentofi t
s
populati
onl i
v i
ngbelowthepov ertyli
neofUS$1aday ,civi
lunrestandgr i
evances, bothreci
pes
forconfli
cts,becomewi despread.Theseagi tati
onssomet i
mest akev i
olentfor
msandar eseen
aschannel sf orpunishinggov er nmentsf ort heirfail
uretoal l
ev i
atepov erty( ECOWAS2006) .For
i
nst ance,inresearchconduct edbyVi ncketal (2011),30percentoft heLi beri
anpopul ati
on
i
ndi catedthatpov ertywasoneoft herootcausesoft heLiberianci vi
lwar .Similarasserti
ons
hav ealsobeenmadewi t
hr egar dstotheconf l
ict
sinNi geri
aandGui nea-Bissau( Vozdi Pazand
Interpeace2010; Ejibunu2007) .InVozdi PazandI nterpeace’s2010r epor t,
pov ert
ywasst ated
asoneoft hemaj orcauseoft heBissau- Gui neanconf li
cts,ci
tingf oodi nsecurit
y ,
lackof
i
nf rastr
uctureandaccesst obasi csocial needsassomeoft hepov ertyindicatorsinthecount ry
(Vozdi PazandI nterpeace2010) .Emphasi zingtheconnect i
onbet weenpov ert
yandconf l
ict,
theBi ssau-Guineanshav eanadagewhi chst at
es‘Inhomeswher etherei snobr eadev eryone
fightsandnoonei sright
’(Vozdi PazandI nt er
peace2010) .Indeedhunger ,
starvati
on,lackof
economi cgrowthanddev elopmentcr eateahi ghl i
keli
hoodofv iolentconf l
ictsandci vi
lstri
fe.

Et
hni
cmar
ginal
i
zat
ion

Ethnici tybyi t
selfisnotv i
ol enthowev ert heconcepthasbeenmani pulatedi n‘ societies
pol ar
izedi ntot woi mbal anceddi videswi thonef actionf eelingmar ginali
zed’ (AnnanandDanso
2013) .Cor respondi ngly,JamesFear onandDav idLai t
in( 2003)al sobel i
evet hat‘agr eat er
degr eeofet hnicorr eli
giousdi ver sity…byi tsel f’i
snot‘ amaj oranddi r
ectcause’ ofv iolentci v
il
conf l
ict …’ (Fear onandLai t i
n2003: 75–90) .Nev ertheless, toal argerext ent, forahet erogeneous
communi t ylikeWestAf r
ica, ethni cityhasbecomeadi vidingf act ort hatcont i
nuest odr ive
violentconf lictsandci v i
lst rifewi thinandamongcommuni tiesandst ates, dest abil
izingt he
peacei nt hesub- regi on.Resear chconduct edacr osst hesub- regi onident i
fieset hni cityand
ethnicf ragment ationasoneoft her ootcausesofv iolentconf li
ct sinWestAf r
ica.Par ti
cularly
forLi ber ia, thiswaspr omi nentas49percentoft hepopul ationr epor t
edlyident i
fi
edet hnicity
andet hni cdi vi
sionsast her ootcauseoft heLi ber i
anci vilwar s( Vincketal 2011) .Mor e
speci fical ly,inthe10- y
earr epr essi v eruleofSamuel Doe, t
heKr ahnandMandi ngoet hnicgr oups
wer emor ef avour edt hant heot her swhi chr esul tedi nv ariouset hni ctensionst hatsawt he
rebelliousi nv asionofChar lesTay lor,anAmer ico-Liber i
an, l
eadi ngt othev iol entcivilwart hat
ov ert
hr ewDoe’ sgov ernmenti n1996( Vincketal 2011) .Cur rent ly,Liberi
ansar estil
l afraidofa
pot ent i
al renewal ofci vilwaral onget hni cl ineswhent heUni tedNat ions( UN)Peacekeepi ng
mi ssionends( Vincketal 2011) .Simi larsi tuat ionsex istinot hercount r
iessuchasCôt ed’Ivoir
e,
Gui nea- Bi ssauandNi geria( Vozdi PazandI nterpeace2010; Ejibunu2007; Ogwang2011) .Fora
smal l count ryl i
keGui nea- Bissau, ethni cdi v isionsar esoent renchedamongt hev arious
communi t i
esandatt henat ional l
ev el,resul tingi nconst antf ight i
ngandv i
ol ence( Vozdi Paz
andI nt erpeace2010) .Likewi se, i
nacount r ylikeGhanawhi chi snot edf orst abi l
it
yandpeace,
ethnicdi v i
sioni nitsnor t
her nr egi on, amongt heAndani sandAbudushasl edt oviolenti nter-
ethnicst rifet hatt hreat enst hepeacei nt heent irecount r
y .
11

Smal
lar
msandl
i
ghtweaponspr
oli
fer
ati
on
Smal lAr msandLi ghtWeapons( SALW)pr ol i
ferationi soneoft hemaj orchal lengesi nWest
Af r
ica.Thesub- regi onr emai nsanar eaofconsi der abl eSALW pr olif
er ati
onbecauseoft hei r
affor dabi li
ty,accessi bilityandav ailabili
ty;andpor osi tyoft hebor dersandl egal framewor ks
l
egi timi zingt heiruse( Kei li2008) .Asr epor tedbyEdekoSunday( 2011) ,WestAf ri
cahost sabout
7t o10mi ll
ionoft hewor ld’si l
legal SALW aswel las8mi lli
onoutoft he100mi l
lionci rcul ati
ng
i
nAf rica( Edeko2011: 55–80; Kwaj a2012) .Addi tional l
y ,77, 000oft hesmal l ar msar eal legedl y
wi t
hint hecont rol ofWestAf ricani nsur gentgr oups( EboandMazal 2003) .Theci rcul ationof
i
llegal armswi t
hi nandacr ossst ateshasi ncr easedt hepr ocl i
vit
yofconf l
ictswi thint hesub-
region.Smal larmspr oliferationhascont ri
but edt ot hemobi li
zationf orcoupsd’ état,
undemocr aticov erthr owofgov ernment s,increasi ngcasual tiesandv iolenti nt er-communal and
i
nt r
a- st ateconf lict sinWestAf rica( Er oandNdi nga- Muv umba2004) .Sincet he1960st her ehav e
beenov er37successf ul mi li
tar ycoupsi nalmostal l thecount r
iesi nWestAf ricaof tenr esul t
ing
i
nv i
ol entwar s;killi
ngmi l
lionsanddi spl aci
ngmany( Kei l
i 2008) .Further mor e, smal lar ms
prolifer ationnot abl yf uel ledt heconf lictsinLi beria,Si erraLeone, Côted’ Ivoire, Gui nea- Bi ssau,
Mal i,Ni ger ,Senegal andTogo( Kei l
i 2008) .Forexampl e, armswer esuppl iedbygov ernment sto
aidt heci vilwar si nLi ber ia,Sier raLeoneandCôt ed’ I
v oire( Kei l
i2008) .Forinst ance, Char l
es
Tay lor ’
sNat ional Pat riot i
cFr ontofLi beria(NPFL)wasaccusedofsuppl yinganddi stribut ing
FodaySankoh’ sRev olut ionar yUni tedFr ont( RUF)wi thar mst of ueltheconf licti nSi erra
Leone. 12Theconf li
ctl edt ot hedeat hofov er50, 000peopl e;30,000amput ations; andt he
sexual violati
onofov er257, 000women( Ploughshar es2002) .Addi ti
onal l
y ,theLi ber i
ansUni ted
forReconci l
iati
onandDemocr acy( LURD)r ebel gr oupr ecei vedweaponsf rom t heGui nean
gov er nment swhi cht heyusedt okillci v
ili
ansi nMonr ov iadur i
ngt heconf l
icti nLi beria( Kei li
2008) .

I
nit
iat
ivest
owar
dsConf
li
ctPr
event
ionandResol
uti
oni
nWestAf
ri
ca

Theoutbr
eakofviol
entconfl
i
ctsandcivi
lstri
feinWestAf r
icahasledt
oseveral
actionsand
i
nter
venti
onspl
ayedbydiffer
entact
ors.Theseact or
sincl
udecivi
lsoci
etyor
ganizat
ions(CSOs)
,
ECOWAS, t
heAfr
icanUnion(AU)andtheinternat
ionalcommunity.

Att hesub-regional l
ev el,ECOWAS’ i
nv olvementandef for
tsinaddr essingcri
ti
calsecurit
y
chal l
engeshav eachi ev edsomenot iceabl esuccess.InLiber i
a,Si
erraLeone, Gui
nea-Bissauand
Côt ed’I
voir
e, t
hedepl oy mentofpeacekeeper sthroughECOMOGandt hekeymediatoryrol
e
playedbyt hesub- regional blochelpedsal vagepeaceandst abil
it
y,br i
nginganendt otheviol
ent
conf l
ict
s(Olonisakin2011) .Additionally
,thei nvolvementofECOWAScanbewi t
nessedt hr
ough
i
tsl eadont hepr ocessofdr afti
ngandsi gningnumer ouspeaceagr eementsthatresul
tedinthe
attainmentofpeacei nsev eralcountri
esi nt hesub- r
egion(Aningetal 2010).Theseincludebut
arenotl i
mitedt otheLi nas-Marcoussis, Accr aI
I&I II
,andPr etor
iaAgr eementsonCôt ed’Iv
oir
e;
theAccr a,CotonouandAbuj aPeaceAgr eement sonLiberi
a; andtheLoméPeaceAgr eementon
Sier
raLeone( Aningetal 2010) .Int ermsofmedi ati
on, ECOWASwasi nv ol
vedi nr ecentconf lict
s
i
nCôt ed’ I
voire,Mali andGui nea- Bissaut oensur ethatst abil
it
yisr estored.Fori nstance, during
the2012coupsd’ ét
ati nMal i andGui nea-Bissau, t
heECOWASHeadsofSt atesand
Government sappoi nt edH. E.Bl aiseCompoar eofBuki naFasoandH. E.Goodl uckJonat hanof
Nigeri
aasmedi ator
sf orther espect ivecount ri
es(ECOWAS2012) .TheECOWAShas
furt
hermor ebeencol labor ati
ngwi t
hci vilsocietyorganizat i
onst oimpl ementi tsEar lyWar ning
Mechani sm (ECOWARN)whi chseekst opr eventandmoni t
orconf li
ctsinthesub- region.For
i
nstance, f
ort hepastei ghty ear ssi ncet heoper ati
onalisat i
onofECOWARN, ECOWAShasbeen
workingwi ththeWestAf ri
caNet workf orPeacebui ldi
ng( WANEP)t omoni torel ectionsinGhana,
Togo, Côted’Ivoire,
Gui neaConakr yandot hercount ri
esont hecont inent(WANEP2011) .In
addit
ion,theadopt i
onsoft hePr otocol,Relati
ngt ot heMechani sm forConf l
ictPr eventi
on,
Management , Resolution, Peacekeepi ngandSecur i
tyinDecember1999andt heECOWAS
Confli
ctPr eventionFr amewor k( ECPF)i n2008, amongot herprotocols,hav ehel pedenhance
andaf fi
rm ECOWAS’ rol easakeypl ayerinconf li
ctprev entionandr esolutioninWestAf rica
(ECOWAS2008; ECOWAS1999) .

Theef fortsofci vilsociet yandwomen’ sgr oupswi thint hesub- r

egioncannotbei gnored.
Thr oughoutt hev ariousv iolentconf l
ictsandci vi
lstri
fet hatWestAf ricahasexper i
enced, these
groupshav epl ayedapi v otalr oleinbui ldingl asti
ngpeacewi thincommuni ti
esandst ates.The
i
nitiativesofgr oupssuchasWANEP, WestAf ri
caCi vilSociet yInsti
tut e(WACSI )
,ManoRi ver
Uni onWomen’ sPeaceNet wor k( MARWOPNET) ,andWomeni nPeacebui l
dingNet wor k
(WI PNET) ,amongot hers, hav ebr oker edpeaceandendedv iolentconf li
ctsinWestAf rica.For
exampl e,toendt heLi ber ianwarWI PNET, throughi tsadv ocacycampai gn, ‘
Wewantpeace, No
Mor eWar ’forcedChar lesTay lorandt hewar lor
dsoft heLURDt oat tendt hepeacet al
ksi n2003
resul t
ingi nt hesi gningoft heAgr eementonCeasef i
reandCessat ionofHost i
li
ti
eson17June
2003( Jones2011: 165) .Inasi mi l
aract ion, anadv ocacycampai gnbyMARWOPNETi n2001
broughtt oget hert hepr esi dent sofLi beria( Char l
esTay lor),SierraLeone( TejanKabbah)and
Gui nea( LansanaCont e)f orapeacet al
k( Jones2011: 166).Thi sact ionmar kedt hef i
rsttime
thet hreel eader shadcomet oget hert odi scussi nsecur i
tyandpeacekeepi ngalongt heirborders
(Jones2011: 166) .Ot herr egional civilsociet yaffil
iatedi nstituti
ons, l
iketheKof iAnnan
International Peacekeepi ngTr ainingCent re( KAIPTC)i nGhana( si
ncei tsincept i
onin2003) ,
hav et r
ainedv ari
ousmi li
tar y,policeandci viliansinconf li
ctpr eventionandpeacekeepi ng.The
KAI PTChasal socr eat edav enuesf ordi alogueamongci vi
lsoci etygr oupsandot herregional
bodi esonpeacekeepi ng, peacebui l
ding, medi at
ionandnegot iat
ion,andpost -confl
ict
reconst ruct i
on. 13

Att
hecontinentalandinternati
onall
evel
,theAU,UNandot herbi
lateral
andmultil
ater
alact
ors
hav
etakensev erali
nit
iati
vestosupporttheconsol
idat
ionofpeacei nWestAfri
ca.TheAfri
can
Uni
onforexampl ewasi nstrumental
inendingCôted’I
voi
re’
spost-elect
oral
viol
encethat
occur r
edin2010–2011.Thecont i
nentalbody,amongot herini
ti
atives,for
medaf iv
e- member
medi ati
ongroupincludingKenyanPrimeMi nisterRail
aOdi nga,PresidentsRobertMugabe
(Zimbabwe),JacobZuma( Sout
hAf r
ica),
GoodluckJonat han(Nigeria)andMohamedOul d
Abdel (Maur
itani
a)tobr okerpeacebetweent hetwodi sputingfacti
ons( GNA2011) .Alsoin
responsetotheApr il2012coupd’étatinGuinea-Bissau,theAUati ts318t hCounci
l meeting
placedabanonGui nea-Bissaufr
om parti
cipati
nginanyAUact i
vit
iesunt i
lconst
it
utionalorder
andpeacewasr estored.14

Bey ondt hebor der sofAf rica,theUNandt heEur opeanUni on( EU)hav eal sobeenkey
cont ri
butor st ot heconsol idationofsust ainabl epeacei nWestAf rica.TheUNf orexampl ehas
beendepl oy ingpeacekeeper si ntov i
olentconf l
ictt erri
toriesi nWestAf ricaf ordecades. 15
Cur r
ent l
y, thegl obal bodyhaspeacekeepi ngmi ssionsi nCôt ed’ I
v oire(UNOCI )andLi ber ia
(UNMI L);howev eri tsmi ssi oninSi erraLeone( UNAMSI L)endedi n2005andwasr epl acedwi th
theUNI nt egr atedOf ficef orSi erraLeone( UNI OSI L) .
16Thr ought hesepeacekeepi ngact ivi
ties,
theUNhel ppr ot ectci vili
ans; disarm, demobi l
izeandr eintegr at eex- combat ant;suppor tpost -
conf l
ictreconst ruct ionpr ocesses; andest ablishpeaceandst ableenv ironmenti ntheseconf li
ct
zones. 17Mor er ecent l
y ,thegl obal governancebodyhasal sobeensuppor ti
ngECOWASi n
addr essingt hecr i
si si nMal iandGui nea-Bissau.Fori nstance, theSecr etary-General’sSpeci al
Repr esent at i
vef orWestAf ri
ca, SaidDj innit,par ti
cipat edi nt heECOWASMedi ati
onandSecur ity
Counci lmeet i
ngonMal i andGui nea-Bissaut ookpl acei nAbi djan, laCôt ed’Ivoi
re,on19May
2012. 18I naddi tion, theest ablishmentoft heUNOf f i
cef orWestAf r
ica( UNOWA)i nJanuar y
2002hasassi stedt her egi ont oaddr ess, i
nteral i
a, issuesofhumanr i
ght sabuse, elect i
on
viol
ence, cross- bor deri nsecur i
ties, secur i
tysect orr eforms, drugt raffi
cki ngandor gani zed
crimesaswel l aspr ov idef undi ngf ort heimpl ement ationofst ateandr egionalprogr ammes. 19
TheEUont heot herhand, hav ebeen, amongot heract i
viti
es, fundi ngandsuppor ti
ngel ection
obser vationandmoni toringpr ogr ammesacr osst hesub- r
egi on.Si nce2000, i
thasdepl oy ed78
ElectionObser vationmi ssi onswor ldwi deincludi ngmi ssionst o10WestAf ri
cancount ries-
SierraLeone, Ni ger ia, Gui nea- Bissau, Liberi
a, Ghana, Togo, Gui neaConakr y,
Côted’ I
v oire,Ni ger
andSenegal .
20Thr ought hesemi ssions, EUhasbeenwor kingwi thl ocal communi t
iesandst ate
i
nst i
tutionst omoni t or, prev entandr esolveel ect ion- r
elatedv iolencei nt hesub-region. 21

Chal
l
engest
oEndi
ngVi
olentConf
li
ctsi
nWestAf
ri
ca

Despiteeff
ortsmadet opreventandendv i
olentconfl
i
ctsinWestAf r
ica,ther egionconti
nuesto
experi
encespor adi
cv i
olenceandv ol
ati
lesecurit
ychall
enges.Themaj orchal l
enget oending
confl
icti
nWestAf r
icacanbeat t
ri
but
edt othepoorunder st
andingoft hef undament alcauses
oftheconfli
ct.Forexampl einthecurr
entMal i
ancrisi
s,themisplacedunder standi
ngoft he
i
nternati
onalcommuni t
ythattherootcauseoft heconfli
cti
sthet err
oristact i
vit
iesbyIslamist
s
i
nt heregi
on;thus,placingiti
nthecontextof‘fi
ghtagainstt
error’hasinpar thinderedthe
processoff i
ndingl ast i
ngsol ut i
onf ort heconfli
ct( Tay lor2013) .Int hati thasshi ftedt hef ocus
from t hedeepseat edr ootcausesofbadgov ernance, corruption, discrimi nation,et hnic
mar ginal izati
on, andunst ruct uredmi li
tarygov ernance)t oter r
or istact ivi
tieswhi chi smai nlyan
offshootoft heconf li
ct(Bour khar s2013) .Otherchal lengesi dent ifi
edbyschol arsincl udeweak
i
nst it
ut ional str
uct ures; languagebar ri
er( Anglo-Francophone- Lusophone) ;lackofski ll
sand
exper tisei nconf li
ctmedi ationanddi alogue; l
ackofr esour ces; l
ackofpol i
tical wil
l; l
ackof
coor dinat ionbet weenandamongECOWASagenci esandi tspar tner s;andnon- i
ncl usivepeace-
buildingpr ocesses.Thesef act or smakeendi ngv i
ol entconf l
ictsi nt her egi oni ncreasi ngly
delicateandchal lengi ng( Af olabi 2009) .Inaff
irmingt heabov e, Ani ngandBah( 2009)i denti
fi
ed
adi sjointwi thr egar dst ocol labor ationandcoor dinationbet weenandamongECOWAS
i
nst it
ut ionsandi tsext er nal par t
ner s( AningandBah2009) .Thi st heyemphasi zedi saf fecti
ng
thei mpl ement ati
onoft heECPFwhi chwasdesi gnedt o‘strengt henhumansecur i
tyand
i
ncor por ateconf li
ctpr ev ent i
onact iviti
esaswel lasaspect sofpeace- building’ (AningandBah
2009) .Thi shasi npar tisal soaf fectingt hewor koper ationoft heECOWARN.Fori nstance,
recent ly, t
her egional ear lywar ningsy stem wascr it
icizedf ornotdet ecti
ngt hesi gnst hatl edto
theApr il2012coupd’ étati nGui nea-Bi ssauast heear lywar ningmechani sm cont i
nuedt o
grappl ewi thinternal andext er nal coor dinati
onchal l
enges( IPI2012) .

Lackofr esourcesofst atesandthesub- r

egi onal bodyal sohi nderst her esoluti
onofconf l
ict
si n
thesub-region.Financial
,humanandmat er i
al resourcesf orconf l
ictresolutionhavebeensome
ofthesub- r
egion’schal l
enges.Forinst ance, mostnat ional secur i
tyfor ceslacktherequisi
te
equipmentandcapaci tyneededt oadequat elydi sar
m bel l
igerentgr oups.Forexampl e,inthe
Malianconf l
ict
,lackofequi pmentandcapaci tyoft henat i
onal armyhasbeennot edasoneof
thechall
engespr event
ingsuccessi vegov ernment sfrom addr essingt heTuar egrebell
ionssince
the1960s( Chew2012) .InLiberi
aal so, despi t
et heaccl aimedher oicint erv
entionofECOMOGi n
1996,mat erial
chal l
engessuchasl ackofequi pment ,arms, seaandai rli
ftcapacit
ies,and
machiner yt
osomeext ent,af
fect
edt heef fectivei mplement ationoft heECOMOGmandat e
whichinpar tcont r
ibut
edt othere-sur f
acingoft heconf l
ictin1999af terpeacewasr estor
edi n
1997( I
sma2001) .

Additi
onall
y,lackofpoliticalwill
ofgov ernment sofWestAf r
icanst at
est ocreatetransparent
andaccount ablegovernancei nstitut
ions,addresshumanr i
ght sissuesandi mplementsi gned
peaceagreement sandr esoluti
onsi salsoachal l
engehinder i
ngt heresoluti
onofv iolent
confl
ict
sint hesub-region.22Forexampl e,inthe2010postel ectoralvi
olenceinCôt ed’Ivoi
re,
LaurentGbagbo’ sdefi
ancet otheECOWAScommuni quéfrom t heAbuj aSummi ton24
December2010, call
i
ngf orhi mt ostepdown, hinderedtheear lyresoluti
onoft heconf li
ct;
fur
therfuel
li
ngt hecrisi
sashi sloyali
stscont i
nuedt ofi
ght.23Fur thermore,li
mitedinv ol
vement
ofwomen, local communi t
ies,grassrootsorganizati
onsandci vi
lsocietyinpeace-buildi
ngand
peacemakingpr ocessesper hapscont ri
butestot hechal
lengesi mpedi nglasti
ngresol uti
onof
conf l
ictsinWestAf ri
ca.Womenpl ayessent ialrolesi npeacemaki ngint heircommuni t
ies,
homesandor gani zati
onshowev er,wheni tcomest oof f
ici
al negoti
ati
onsandmedi ati
ons,
women’ spar ti
cipat i
onandr epresent ationr emai nnomi nal(Iwil
ade2011) .InWestAf r
ica, t
he
primar yor gansf orconf l
ictmedi at i
oni nt heECOWASMemberSt atesaret heCounci lofthe
Wi se( CoW)andt heSpeci al Repr esent ativesandSpeci alEnv oysofthePr esident(Afolabi2009).
Wi ththel atterrepr esentedbyonl yonef emal ePr esidentEl l
enJohnsonSi rl
eaf ,
manywomenar e
aut omat i
cal l
yexcl udedf r
om par t
icipatingi nf or
mal negot i
ati
ons.Theexcl usi onofwomeni n
thispr ocessof tenr esultsinunr esol vedt ensions.Mel anneVer veer,Headoft heUSSt ate
Depar tment ’
sOf fi
cef orGl obal Women’ sI ssues, notedatt he2010Conf er enceont heRol eof
Womeni nGl obal Securityt hatthi rt
y -
oneoft hewor ld’sthir
ty-ni
neconf l
ictsr elapsedbacki nto
violentwar saf t
erpeaceagr eement sbecausewomenwer eexcludedf r
om t hepeacepr ocess
(USI P2011) .Mor eover,l
ackofadequat eexper t
iseandski l
lsofmedi atorsal soaccount sforthi
s
per si
stingchal l
enge( Afolabi 2009) .Fur ther more, effecti
vepeacemaki ngr equi r
esadequat e
medi at i
onandf acili
tati
onski l
lswhi chseem t obel ackingamongmember soft heCoW, and
othermedi at orsint hesub- regi
on( Onwuka2009) .

Concl
usi
on

Endi ngv iolentconf li

ctsandci v i
lstr
ifeint hesub- regionr equi rescol l
abor at i
veandcol l
ecti
v e
effortsin( a)identif
yingt hecausal indicatorsofconf l
ict s;( b)dev elopi
ngconcr etestrategies
andpr ogrammest opr event,manageandcompl etelyr esol v et heseconf li
ct s; (
c)document i
ng,
managi nganddi ssemi nati
ngi nfor
mat iononl essonsl ear ntandbestpr act icesofconf li
ct
prev enti
onandr esolut i
on,andpeacebui ldingacr osst hesub- region;and( d)har nessing
i
ndi genousconf l
ictpr eventi
onmechani smswhi lelever agi ngwi thcontempor arymechani smst o
adequat elyaddr esspr esentandemer gingi nsecuriti
esandv i
olentconflict s.Al thought hesub-
regioni si ncreasinglyv olati
l
et ov i
ciousconf l
ict
s, i
tsrichi ndi genouscul tur al andsoci alvalues
suchasr espect ,protectionofhumanl ife,freedom, cooper at ionandt olerance; 24coupl edwi th
i
tsdi versepopul ationandnumer ousci vilsocietyor gani zat ionsar eprospect ivest rengthsand, i
f
wel lharnessed, couldbeadr i
vingforcef orendi ngt hepr eponder anceofv iol
entconf li
ctsand
civi
l stri
fei nWestAf rica.

Not
es

1SeeObi
2012.

2Af
terthedeploymentofECOMOGt oLi
berial
eadingtotheceasef
ir
ewhichendedt hef
ir
stci
vi
l
war(1989–1996),et
hni
cstri
feamonggroupsloyaltoCharl
esTayl
orref
ueledvi
olencer
esul
ti
ng
i
nthesecondci v
ilwar(
1999–2003)unt
ilt
hesigningoftheAccraComprehensi
vePeace
Agr
eementendedt
hesecondci
vi
lwari
n2003.SeeI
nsi
ghtonConf
li
ct2012.

3SeeI
nsi
ghtonConf
li
ct2012.

4Forinst
ance,HenriKonanBedi
e’
sconceptof‘
I
voi
ri
té’
mar
ginal
i
zedt
henon-
Ivoi
ri
ansandt
he
predominantMusli
m north.

5SeeFr
ance242012.

6SeeUNTogo2012andGi
l
mour2012.

7Forinstanceafor
merGov er
norofNiger
ia’
soil
eli
teBayel
saStat
e,DSPAlamei
yesegha
al
legedlystashedmil
l
ionsofdol
larsi
nforei
gnbankaccount
stoprocuremansi
onsintheUni
ted
Stat
esandsendhi schil
drent
opr i
vat
eschoolsi
nLondon(Eji
bunu2007).

8I
tisaBissau-Gui
neancul
tur
ewher
eamani
smeasur
edaccor
dingt
ohi
sabi
l
ityt
ober
ough,
bol
d,vi
olentandarr
ogant.

9Ther eportl
ooksatpoliti
calr
ightsandcivi
ll
ibert
iesi
nv ar
iouscountri
esassessi
ngindicat
ors
suchasel ector
alprocess;pol
it
icalpl
ural
ism andpart
icipation;
funct
ioni
ngofgovernment ;
fr
eedom ofexpr essi
onandbel i
ef;associ
ati
onalandor ganizati
onalr
ights;
rul
eoflaw;and
personalautonomyandi ndivi
dualri
ghts.

10Equatori
alGui
neaandt
heGambi
aexper
iencedat
tempt
edcoupsd’
étati
n2004and2006
respect
ivel
y.

11SeeAapengnuo2012.

12SeeTheTr
ial
ofChar
lesTay
lor2008.
13Formor
einf
ormat
ionseewww.
kai
ptc.
org.

14SeePi
ng2012.

15Forexampl
e,UNAMSI
L,seeht
tp:
//www.
un.
org/
en/
peacekeepi
ng/
missi
ons/
past
/unamsi
l
/.

16I
bid.

17Formor
einf
ormat
ionseeht
tp:
//www.
un.
org/
en/
peacekeepi
ng/
issues/
ddr
.sht
ml.

18SeeUNTogo2012.

19Formor
einf
ormat
ionseeht
tp:
//unowa.
unmi
ssi
ons.
org/
.

20Formor
einf
ormat
ionseeht
tp:
//eeas.
eur
opa.
eu/
eueom/
missi
ons/
index_
en.
htm.

21I
bid.

22SeeObi
2012.

23Formor
einfor
mationseeht
tp:
//www.i
ri
nnews.
org/
repor
t/91566/
cot
e-d-
ivoi
re-
ecowas-
sear
chi
ng-
for
-a-r
egi
onal-
sol
uti
on-
bri
efi
ng.

24SeeAfisi
2009whosay sinpre-
coloni
alAfr
ica,warwasnotcelebr
atedbutwhenitwasbound
tohappen,t
hereweretr
aditi
onalr
egulat
ionsthatensuredt
hathumanliv
eswer epr
otected,
fi
ghti
ngtakesplaceout
sideofthecommuni t
ies,peaceagr
eementswererespect
ed,theperi
od
anddur
ationofwardet
ermined,
typeofweaponsused,
met
hodofcombat
,andwomenandt
he
agedwereinv
olvedi
npeacemakingprocesses.

Aut
horI
nfor
mat
ion

NancyAnnanisar esear
cherattheFacul
tyofAcademicAf
fair
sandResearchoft heKofiAnnan
I
nter
nati
onalPeacekeepingTrai
ningCent
re(KAIPTC),
Accr
a-Ghana.Theauthorwouldli
keto
t
hankthepartner
soft heKAIPTCf ort
hei
rsupportt
otheCentr
eanditsacti
vit
ies.

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