GGH2601
PORTFOLIO
SEPTEMBER 2022
Document preview:
The Political Instability and General conflict in Africa
Introduction
Conflict can be defined as a threat, or perceived threat, to an individual's interests,
values, or needs. In politics, this plays out in a range of ways; in some cases, parties
will agree on goals but disagree on how to achieve them, and in other cases, parties will
disagree on goals, and, lastly, sometimes parties will not agree on the facts to the
dispute obscuring any potential for problem-solving. In practice, although conflicts are not
always violent, those that have plagued West Africa at community, state and regional levels
have been characterized by violence (Afisi 2009: 59–66). For example, countries such as
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau were affected by conflicts and civil strife
in which violence and incessant killings were prevalent (Afolabi 2009: 24).Violent conflicts are
declining in the sub-region, recent insurgencies in the Sahel region affecting the West African
countries of Mali, Niger and Mauritania sends alarming signals of the possible re-surfacing of
internal and regional violent conflicts.
PORTFOLIO
SEPTEMBER 2022
Document preview:
The Political Instability and General conflict in Africa
Introduction
Conflict can be defined as a threat, or perceived threat, to an individual's interests,
values, or needs. In politics, this plays out in a range of ways; in some cases, parties
will agree on goals but disagree on how to achieve them, and in other cases, parties will
disagree on goals, and, lastly, sometimes parties will not agree on the facts to the
dispute obscuring any potential for problem-solving. In practice, although conflicts are not
always violent, those that have plagued West Africa at community, state and regional levels
have been characterized by violence (Afisi 2009: 59–66). For example, countries such as
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau were affected by conflicts and civil strife
in which violence and incessant killings were prevalent (Afolabi 2009: 24).Violent conflicts are
declining in the sub-region, recent insurgencies in the Sahel region affecting the West African
countries of Mali, Niger and Mauritania sends alarming signals of the possible re-surfacing of
internal and regional violent conflicts.
