Conflict in Africa: Why It Persists - A public roundtable discussion
Channel: Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Date: 2016-10-26

Africa continues to experience more conflict than any other region. In 2015, one in four people displaced by conflict were African. The continent is host to nine of the United Nations' 16 peacekeeping operations-some of which are the largest and most expensive in the world. Similarly, the African Union Mission in Somalia, with more than 22,000 troops and complex political and social dynamics, reveals the multifaceted challenges these operations face. Despite these robust interventions, conflict persists in Africa.
 
In the recently released 2nd edition of War and Conflict in Africa, which examines more than 600 conflicts in Africa since 1990, Paul Williams observes that while many elements drive conflict-resource competition, intercommunal rivalry, inequitable development-poor governance lies at the root of nearly all. What lessons does this hold for resolving conflict on the continent? What role should regional and international institutions play? How can conflict drivers be better managed?

MODERATOR

Kate Almquist Knopf
Director, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
 
PANELISTS
 
Paul D. Williams
Associate Professor of International Affairs, 
Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University

Ambassador (ret.) Phillip Carter
Africa Center for Strategic Studies Senior Advisor and
Executive Vice President, Jefferson Waterman International
 
Ibrahim Wani
Africa Center for Strategic Studies Senior Advisor and
Independent Consultant