WHAT ARE THE ENABLING FACTORS BEHIND CONFLICTS IN AFRICA?
In a recent landmark report to the Security Council, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, reflected on a number of causes of conflict in Africa. They include historical legacies such as the Berlin conference of 1885, the scramble to divide Africa among European powers (without regard for ethnic realities), and the subsequent establishment of colonial commercial and political structures designed primarily to extract resources. Against this background, Africa became one of several locations in the world where super-power rivalries played out during the cold war. In the setting of a central strategic stalemate in Europe, cold war antagonists tried to outflank one another in Africa, Asia and South America, using local players as pawns. As if this was not enough, the end of the cold war was associated with a rebound phenomenon, in which long suppressed rivalries resurfaced at a time of declining international focus and attention, but nevertheless fueled by excess weapons
