IRREGULAR WARFARE IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS

dc.creator	Rialize Ferreira
dc.date	2011-08-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T20:08:20Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T20:08:20Z
dc.identifier	10.5787/38-1-79
dc.identifier	2224-0020
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/c9eeca4f4bdb48a5819956d319e837dd
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/8140
dc.identifier.uri	https://doaj.org/article/c9eeca4f4bdb48a5819956d319e837dd
dc.description	Irregular wars have erupted in African states since colonial independence<br />from Western European countries in the 1960s. The end of the Cold War in 1989<br />and the changing nature of international politics did not bring about political<br />stability in African states either. These intrastate wars were by-products of historic<br />disputes kept hidden during the Cold War. When the ideological confrontation<br />ended, they surfaced again. Intrastate wars and irregular warfare are not new<br />phenomena on the African continent and led to the collapse of state institutions in<br />countries such as Liberia, Somalia, Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of Congo<br />(DRC), Uganda, Sudan and Burundi. Rather than addressing African animosities,<br />conflict continues unabated.<br />The article aims to investigate why irregular (or asymmetric) warfare is<br />utilised in African conflicts where rebel and ethnic groups retain residual military<br />capacity to deploy against weak central governments if their socio-economic<br />demands are not met in the emerging states. The article combines “grievance” and<br />“greed” models to explain the motivations for conflict, while the conceptualisation<br />and utilisation of asymmetric warfare approaches in the African context of irregular<br />war are questioned. Democratic values such as freedom, justice, equality and human<br />dignity are lacking in conflict-ridden societies where unequal forces compete for<br />political and economic control or control over scarce resources. Peacekeeping<br />operations cannot succeed unless the basis for equitable participation in, and the<br />sharing of wealth and power is established in African societies.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	University of Stellenbosch. Faculty of Military Science (Military Academy)
dc.relation	http://scientiamilitaria.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/79
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/2224-0020
dc.source	Scientia Militaria : South African Journal of Military Studies, Vol 38, Iss 1 (2011)
dc.subject	Military Science
dc.subject	U
dc.subject	DOAJ:Military Science
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Military Science
dc.subject	U
dc.subject	DOAJ:Military Science
dc.subject	DOAJ:Technology and Engineering
dc.subject	Military Science
dc.subject	U
dc.subject	Military Science
dc.subject	U
dc.subject	Military Science
dc.subject	U
dc.title	IRREGULAR WARFARE IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS
dc.type	Article