The Roots of African Conflicts: The Causes and Costs (review)

This is a carefully edited nine-chapter book. It begins with Paul Zeleza's introduction, which sets forth the theme and goals of the book. According to Zeleza, the book is the first volume of a projected two-volume collection of essays that focus on the causes, costs, and effects of African conflicts; the second volume is to examine the challenges of resolving these conflicts. The introductory chapter, in three parts, identifies five types of war: imperial, anticolonial, intrastate, interstate, and international. It examines the causes of the U.S. "war on terror" and its impact on Africa's other conflicts. Finally, it explores economic, cultural, and social dimensions of war in their transnational and imperial contexts, coupled with their costs and consequences.

In his introduction, Zeleza argues that the "war on terror" is an imperial war because it seeks to advance U.S. hegemony. He points out that considerable controversy surrounds its conceptualization. According to him, the war is vicious for those in Iraq, Afghanistan, and surrounding countries, and by emboldening terrorist groups it has undermined "international law, the United Nations, global security[,] and disarmament." He approvingly quotes the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, which refers to the U.S. as "arrogant, hypocritical, self-absorbed, self-indulgent, and contemptuous of others." After examining other typologies of war, Zeleza—as do other authors of essays in the book—concludes that Africa's wars and conflicts have multiple causes, and that it is important to explore the interplay of the factors or forces that lead to conflict and the roles of various actors, including national and international ones, so as to gain a deeper understanding of the African situation.

Following the introductory chapter is Ali A. Mazrui's overview of conflict in Africa. Mazrui traces its root causes to the colonial legacy, but he identifies other factors—including artificial borders, religion or identity, premodern armies with modern weapons, and dualism versus pluralism—as being responsible for some of Africa's conflicts. To resolve these conflicts, he suggests toleration, "constructive pluralization," empowerment of women, improved civil-military relations, intervention, regional integration, the African Security Council, and self-help.

Henderson's chapter is a systematic analysis of Africa's civil wars from 1950 to 1992. Henderson discusses, at the outset, how "decolonization contributed to the political, economic, and domestic cultural disparities that have given rise to African conflict" (p. 51). Next, he makes several propositions on correlates of Africa's civil wars and evaluates each proposition using regression analysis. After asserting that colonialism was not aimed at creating strong, viable, autonomous states, he quotes Hosti (1996) approvingly: "the colonial state's main purpose had nothing to do with preparation for ultimate statehood, and everything to do with economic exploitation, building infrastructure, and communication, settling migrants, and organizing plantation agriculture" (p. 52). Aptly, Henderson notes that the colonial state fostered asymmetrical development, which led to frustration among ethnic groups competing for economic spoils. The result was a destructive legacy, which adversely affected state-building and nation-building. Henderson finds that the colonial legacy was more "strongly associated with the probability of civil war … [and] that the non-French colonies were more likely to experience civil wars" (p. 62). He also finds that military spending significantly increases the likelihood of civil war. While cultural factors, in combination with economic and political factors, are likely to be associated with civil war, Henderson finds no significant relationship between ethnopolitical groups and warfare. Economic development reduces the probability of war, but militarization increases it. Regime type and cultural factors have not played a significant role in African wars.

Ahmed, Akokpari, and Shaw and Mbabazi undertake case studies of conflicts in Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Uganda respectively. Ahmed postulates that Sudan is characterized by "multiple marginality." According to him, while cultural, ethnic, racial, and religious differences among the Sudanese people may be responsible for some conflicts in the country, it would be a mistake to see these differences as...