Towards an African Solution-Oriented Approach to Conflict Analysis in African Peace and Security (2002-2022)

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46991/

Keywords:

African Union, Pan-Africanism, peace, security, African Solutions-Oriented, conflict resolution, transparency, decision-making processes

Abstract

This paper proposes an AfSol-oriented (African Solutions) approach to conflict analysis in Africa's peace and security sphere, focusing on the period between 2002 and 2022. As Africa grapples with numerous internal and external challenges to peace and stability, it becomes imperative to examine the roles, perspectives, and interactions of all stakeholders involved in resolving conflicts across the continent. An AfSol-oriented approach calls for a shift from externally driven solutions to locally led, context-specific initiatives that promote sustainable peace and security. The study identifies the key stakeholders involved in Africa's peace and security processes, including regional organizations, national governments, non-state actors, civil society, and international partners. By examining their respective roles, motivations, and capabilities, the research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate web of interactions among these actors. Furthermore, the paper highlights the importance of promoting inclusivity and local ownership in conflict resolution strategies. It argues that genuine and lasting peace can only be achieved when the affected communities actively participate in shaping the solutions to their problems. The AfSol-oriented approach emphasizes the need to prioritize local knowledge, cultural practices, and traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, while also complementing them with modern strategies and international support.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Abraham Ename Minko, Istanbul University

    Senior Researcher and Policy Analyst in Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution and Associate Member of the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL) at Leiden University. He is completing a PhD in Political Science and International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University, Türkiye

References

Abrahamsen, Rita, Carol B. Thompson, Cyril I. Obi, and Franklin Charles Graham IV. 2013. Conflict and Security in Africa. Boydell & Brewer, Limited.

Adams, Adeola, and Chux Gervase Iwu. 2015. "Conflict resolution: Understanding concepts and issues in conflict prevention, management, and transformation." Corporate Ownership and Control 12, no. 4, 431–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.22495/cocv12i4c4p1

Addison, Tony. 2001. Reconstruction from war in Africa: Communities, entrepreneurs, and states. Helsinki: United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research.

Adekanye, J. 'Bayo. 2007. Linking conflict diagnosis, conflict prevention, and conflict management in contemporary Africa: Selected essays. Lagos, Nigeria: Ababa Press Ltd.

Adem, Seifudein. 2004. "Cultures of Political Recycling and Conflict Resolution in Japan: Any Lessons for Africa?" African and Asian Studies 3, no. 1, 3–31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15692108-00301002

Akinola, Adeoye O., and Ufo Okeke Uzodike. 2017. "Ubuntu and the Quest for Conflict Resolution in Africa." Journal of Black Studies 49, no. 2, 91–113. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0021934717736186

Anyang' Nyong'o, Peter. 1998. "Governance, Security and Conflict Resolution in Africa." Diogenes 46, no. 184, 129–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/039219219804618413

Apuuli, Kasaija Phillip. 2020. "The African Union and Peacekeeping in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities." Vestnik RUDN. International Relations 20, no. 4, 667–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2313-0660-2020-20-4-667-677

Attah-Poku, Agyemang. 1998. African ethnicity: History, conflict management, resolution, and prevention. Lanham: University Press of America.

Bank, African Development. 2008. African development report: Conflict resolution, peace and reconstruction in Africa. New York: Oxford University Press.

Blake, Cecil. 1998. "The Role of Peace Communication in Conflict Resolution in Africa." Journal of Black Studies 28, no. 3, 309–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002193479802800302

Benjamin, Jesse J., Brandon D. Lundy, and A. G. Adebayo. 2014. Indigenous conflict management strategies: Global perspectives. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books.

Brewer, Cecily G. 2011. "Peril by Proxy: Negotiating Conflicts in East Africa." International Negotiation 16, no. 1, 137–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/157180611x553908

Deng, Francis Mading. 2008. Identity, diversity, and constitutionalism in Africa. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

Diouf, Babacar. 1998. "The future of conflict resolution in Africa and the role of the Organization of African Unity (OAU)." Thesis, Monterey, Calif.: Springfield, Va.: Naval Postgraduate School; Available from National Technical Information Service. http://handle.dtic.mil/100.2/ADA350148

Dlamini, Thandeka Lungile. 2000. "Searching for new relevance in the 1990s: the Organization of African Unity as an instrument of conflict resolution." Thesis, Rhodes University. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002980

Ebegbulem, Joseph C. 2011. "Nigeria and conflict resolution in Africa: The Darfur experience." Civilizer 11, no. 21, 69. http://dx.doi.org/10.22518/16578953.34

Fisher, Ronald J., Herbert C. Kelman, and Susan Allen Nan. 2013. Conflict Analysis and Resolution. Oxford University Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199760107.013.0016

Godfrey, Okoth P., Ogot Bethwell A, and Jomo Kenyatta Foundation. 2000. Conflict in contemporary Africa. Nairobi: Jomo Kenyatta Foundation.

Grovogui, Siba N'Zatioula, and I. William Zartman. 1990. "Ripe for Resolution: Conflict and Intervention in Africa." International Journal of African Historical Studies 23, no. 3, 565. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/219638

Grzybowski, Alex. 2001. Good governance and conflict management: A framework for conflict analysis and resolution. Victoria, B.C: Institute for Dispute Resolution, University of Victoria.

Hammed, Hanafi A. 2015. "Appraising the Role of African Union: The New Partnership for Africa’s Development in Conflict Prevention and Management in Africa." International and Comparative Law Review 15, no. 2, 69–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/iclr-2016-0036

Helinjiva, Rakotondrasoa. 2018. "Non-Armed Conflict Resolution by African Union." Jurnal Dinamika Global 3, no. 01, 51–67. http://dx.doi.org/10.36859/jdg.v3i01.56

Jackson, Richard. 2001. "Conflict Resolution in Africa: Intervention, Indifference, and Indigenous Solutions." African Affairs 100, no. 399, 321–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/afraf/100.399.321

Janzen, Randy. 2018. Conflict Analysis and Transformation. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018.

Jeong, Ho-Won. 2008. Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis. Sage Publications Ltd.

Kabia, John M. 2008. Humanitarian intervention and conflict resolution in West Africa: From ECOMOG to ECOMIL. Aldershot, Hants, England: Ashgate Pub. Company.

Kalama, John, and Johnson Sinikiem. 2021. "Enhancing Africa’s Internal Security Through Nonviolent Measures: An Analysis of Nigeria’s Amnesty programme" International Journal of Advanced Research in Public Policy, Social Development and Enterprise Studies 4, no. 1, 51–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.48028/iiprds/ijarppsdes.v4.i1.05

Kanzian, Christian, and Edmund Runggaldier SJ. 2007. eds. Cultures. Conflict - Analysis - Dialogue. De Gruyter. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783110328936

Khalil, M. 2000. "Conflict resolution in Africa." Journal of African Economics 9, no. 3, 295–322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jae/9.3.295

Kuperman, Alan J. 2015. ed. Constitutions and Conflict Management in Africa. University of Pennsylvania Press. http://dx.doi.org/10.9783/9780812290332

Levinger, Matthew Bernard. 2012. Conflict analysis: Understanding causes, unlocking solutions. Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace.

Lyons, Terrence. 2008. Conflict Management and Africa: Negotiation, Mediation and Politics (Routledge Studies in Security and Conflict Management). Routledge.

Malan, Jannie. 1997. Conflict resolution wisdom from Africa. Durban, South Africa: ACCORD.

Mandela, Siyabulela. 2017. "Preventive diplomacy and conflict prevention in Africa." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/13435

Matsuda, Motoji. 2013. "Imagination through African Area Studies: On Africa Potentials for Conflict Resolution and Coexistence." Trends in the Sciences 18, no. 7, 762–766. http://dx.doi.org/10.5363/tits.18.7_62

May, Roy, and Oliver Furley. 2021. Peacekeeping in Africa. Taylor & Francis Group.

Merwe, Hendrik W. Van der. 2000. Peacemaking in South Africa: A life in conflict resolution. Cape Town: Tafelberg.

Michael, Nicholson. 1992. Rationality and the analysis of international conflict. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Moghaddam, Fathali M., Rom Harré, and Naomi Lee. 2008. eds. Global Conflict Resolution Through Positioning Analysis. New York, NY: Springer New York. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-72112-5

Moreda, Fiseha. 2022. "Analysing the concept of peace in post-conflict African countries." Global Journal of Sociology: Current Issues 12, no. 1, 71–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.18844/gjs.v12i1.6522

Myerson, Roger B. 1991. Game theory: Analysis of conflict. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press.

Mwagiru, Makũmi. 2001. Conflict management in Africa: Lessons learned and future strategies. Nairobi: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung and Centre for Conflict Research.

Ngomba-Roth, Rose. 2008. The challenges of conflict resolution in Africa: The case of Cameroon-Nigerian border conflict. Münster: LIT.

Salim, Salim Ahmed. 2002. African conflicts: Their management, resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction. Addis Ababa: Development Policy Management Forum.

Shaw, Timothy M. 2003. Conflict and peace-building in Africa: The regional dimensions. Helsinki: United Nations University, World Institute for Development Economics Research.

Sixpence, Pedzisai, Alouis Chilunjika, and Emmanuel Sakarombe. 2021. "Options for Post-Election Conflict Resolution in Africa." International Journal of Law and Public Policy 3, no. 1, 49–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.36079/lamintang.ijlapp-0301.186

Spears, Ian S. 1999. "Power-Sharing and Conflict Resolution in Africa." International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis 54, no. 3, 525–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/002070209905400312

Sriram, Chandra Lekha, and Marie-Joëlle Zahar. 2009. "The Perils of Power-Sharing: Africa and Beyond." Africa Spectrum 44, no. 3, 11–39. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/000203970904400302

Odobo, Samuel Osagie, Amos Musa Andekin, and Kingsley Udegbunam. 2017. "Analysis of ECOWAS Institutional Framework for Conflict Management." Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences 8, no. 6, 143–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mjss-2017-0051

Ohaegbulam, Festus Ugboaja. 2005. U.S. policy in postcolonial Africa: Four case studies in conflict resolution. New York: P. Lang.

Ojakorotu, Victor, and Adewole Ayodeji Adeleke. 2017. "Nigeria and Conflict Resolution in the Sub-regional West Africa: The Quest for a Regional Hegemon?" Insight on Africa 10, no. 1, 37–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0975087817735386

Osei-Kufuor, Patrick, Kwaku Adutwum Boakye, and Stephen B. Kendie. 2014. Spatial analysis of violent conflicts in Ghana, 2007-2013. Cape Coast, Ghana: University of Cape Coast.

Plaatjes, Carlton Henry. 2011."Assessing conflict and management interventions." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1018930

Roundtable, on Strengthening Regional Capacity for Conflict Resolution in West Africa: A. Response to NEPAD (2002 Accra Ghana). 2002. Roundtable on Strengthening Regional Capacity for Conflict Resolution in West Africa: A Response to NEPAD. [Accra]: ASDR Publications.

Torgbor, J. E. 2009. "Constructive Dispute and Conflict Resolution: A Technique for Resolving Serious Conflicts in Africa." Arbitration International 25, no. 1, 121–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/arbitration/25.1.121

Twagiramungu, Noel, Allard Duursma, Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe, and Alex de Waal. 2019. "Re-describing transnational conflict in Africa." Journal of Modern African Studies 57, no. 3, 377–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022278x19000107

Ujunwa, Augustine, Chinwe Okoyeuzu, and Ebere Ume Kalu. 2019. "Armed Conflict and Food Security in West Africa: Socioeconomic Perspective." International Journal of Social Economics 46, no. 2, 182–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/ijse-11-2017-0538

Ulafor, Onoh John. 2020. "Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence: Towards conflict resolution and peace in Africa." International Journal of Humanities and Innovation (IJHI) 3, no. 2, 60–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.33750/ijhi.v3i2.75

Uwazie, Ernest E. 2014. Alternative dispute resolution and peace-building in Africa. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Vale, Peter. 1992. "Conflict resolution in Africa." International Affairs 68, no. 4, 776. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2622813

Wicomb, Wilmien. 2008. "Testing the water while the house is on fire: a critical approach to the African Union conflict management system." Diss., University of Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/8066

Winslade, John. 2008. Practicing narrative mediation: Loosening the grip of conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Woodward, Peter. 1993. "Conflict Resolution In Africa." African Affairs 92, no. 366, 146–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a098593

Zartman, I. William, Sadikiel Kimaro, Donald Rothchild, Terrence Lyons, and Francis M. Deng. 2010. Sovereignty As Responsibility: Conflict Management in Africa. Brookings Institution Press.

Zartman, I. William. 1989. Ripe for resolution: Conflict and intervention in Africa. New York: Oxford University Press.

Published

2026-06-01

Issue

Section

Regional Policy

How to Cite

Ename Minko, A. (2026). Towards an African Solution-Oriented Approach to Conflict Analysis in African Peace and Security (2002-2022). Journal of Political Science: Bulletin of Yerevan University, 5(1(13), 79-109. https://doi.org/10.46991/

Similar Articles

11-20 of 95

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)