Past Research Projects

Prevention of Violent Conflicts in Africa

Numerous studies have addressed the issue of violent conflict in Africa, but most have tended to focus either on statistical interpretations of the causes of conflict, including poverty and inequality, or on examinations of the political processes of individual countries. This study considers the dynamics of Africa's conflicts from a perspective that combines structural causes and political processes by examining the interface between them, the research niche. "Structure" in this context mainly denotes a socio-economic structure and as used here refers specifically to horizontal inequality (HI) as put forth by the Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity (CRISE) of Oxford University. "Political process" refers to dynamic interaction among diverse political groups operating from backgrounds that include political institutions adopted on short-term bases, influences of neighboring countries (regions), trigger factors, and motivations of soldiers. This study aims at establishing a theoretical framework, comparing cases in about eight African countries, and deriving the policy implications.