Essay on Conflict: Struggles, Tensions & Hostilities Among States & Governments

Introduction

Conflict is referred to as a particular set of the relationship among rival factions or states within different states or governments, which might lead to subjective tension or hostilities manifested in the subjective military or economic hostilities. Conflict is also referred to as a struggle over claims or values to power, scarce resources, and status in the sense that conflicting states aim to eliminate or injure their parties or rivals. However, conflicts could be uncontrollable or violent, recessive or dominant, insolvable, or solvable. According to the worldwide history, unfolding events suggest that most of the conflicts witnessed in the past and today are violent, causing life-long injuries to the victims despite the monumental loss of property and lives. Two broad types of conflict have been identified across Africa. These include internal and international conflicts.

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Intra-state or internal conflicts are a type of conflict in which groups oppose the government of a particular state within the same government or state wishing to overthrow the authority with the use of military (Azam, 2001). It can also arise out of armed violence within the borders of a particular state. On the other hand, inter-state, also referred to as internal conflict, occurs primarily between two or more countries that involve military forces of at least one nation. It is essential to note that Africa, as a whole, has, over the years, experienced both categories of conflict. In Africa, conflicts have been as a result of many causes such as corruption, inept leadership, adverse effect of external debt and poverty, ethnic compositions within the African countries, and arbitrary boundaries occasioned by colonial powers. This paper investigates the impact of conflicts in Africa on areas such as education, security, and economy (farming) between African counties.

Effects of conflicts in Africa on Economy (Agriculture)

In most of the West African countries, agriculture dominates its economies as being the backbone and critical employer as well as the most significant source of exports and income. Food insecurity and conflict are much related. Research shows that the proportion of food unforeseen circumstances considered to be human-made has, however, increased over a long period (McGuirk, & Burke, 2017). Between 1992 and 2203, economic and conflict problems are the leading causes of food emergencies across Africa.

In West Africa, Nigeria and Mali are two countries that have great potential and influence to increase their agricultural production. Recently, these two countries have faced severe seasons of internal conflict that has adversely influenced investment and agricultural productivity. Moreover, conflict can negatively affect agriculture in several ways (McGuirk & Burke, 2017). For instance, it can disrupt the distribution and supply of outputs and inputs, cause a massive disruption and displacement of the labor force, and create inflation of prices. In this regard, these problems can make agricultural production and investments challenging to sustain in volatile and political environments.

Furthermore, research studies have examined the effect of conflict in Africa in the broader perspective of the economy on both micro and macro levels. For example, civil between African countries has a significant adverse effect on the rate of growth per capita income. On average, agricultural production drops at approximately 12.3 percent per annum due to conflicts (McGuirk, & Burke, 2017). For instance, 2007-2008 post-election violence, which erupted in Kenya, adversely affected the export of the cut flower industry, causing a decrease in per capita income.

Due to the insurgence and increased intensity of Boko Haram militia attacks in Nigeria, it has critically reduced productivity and total output. The land use has decreased the agricultural outputs and returns of some of the specific crops like cassava, yams, sorghum, and soya significantly. Nonetheless, conflict is found to have reduced the regular working hours of the hired labor force for people working in farms as well as family labor (McGuirk, & Burke, 2017). In this regard, agricultural wages are thus greatly affected. Decreased trade, productivity, and investment, along with physical and human capital destruction, are some of the devastating effects through which conflicts in Africa impede agricultural and economic growth. These factors, when taken together, can result in a persistent decrease in the production capacity of a specific economy, which can lead to a reduction in real Gross Domestic Product.

Effects of conflicts in Africa on Education

Most of the Sub-Saharan African countries have been adversely affected by the armed conflicts over the past years. In essence, armed conflicts lead to major challenges that might bring with them some of the devastating impacts for a specific country, which includes the destruction of private and public infrastructure, displacement of people, and casualties (Barrios-Tao et al. 2017). Research findings show that armed conflicts within the African states have a strong adverse consequence on education. Indeed, these findings suggest that the rates at which children are not attending school in primary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities enrolment, is a very serious and sensitive case to conflicts.

The consequences of education in African nations may not necessarily be positive. As a result of increased aspirations, armed conflicts may influence social unrest in schools and may increase collective action potential against the state. In any case, education is misused by African countries as a way of indoctrination; it can lead to cultural tensions as well as enhance nationalist sentiments. However, there is clear and straightforward evidence that education can enhance religious tolerance and involvement of the local community (Barrios-Tao et al. 2017). Education results in higher tolerance and trust among groups in the community. Likewise, if there is the essence of diversity among the schools, then trust increases and promotes open-minded perspectives in students, which have a significant effect on the levels of tolerance with their communities and families.

Generally, investing in education reduces conflict because the construction of schools is linked to a decrease in violence. If there is anything that makes people in the community to engage in the communal collection, the action is education. Even though conflict can destroy public infrastructure such as schools, like in Mozambique, where fifty-eight percent of primary schools were closed or destroyed because of its long civil war (Barrios-Tao et al., 2017). Investing in education is the ultimate goal of such effects. Consequently, investing in an education system indeed has a significant potential to produce tremendous benefits in matters of conflict prevention, which go hand-in-hand and narrowing human and economic capital gains.

Furthermore, conflict affects education in many ways; for instance, displacement or death of students and teachers. Due to the Rwandan genocide, at least two-thirds of the teachers in secondary and primary schools across the country were displaced or killed (Barrios-Tao et al., 2017). Also, conflicts threaten the security of children while traveling day-by-day to school as well as attending various classes. On the other hand, parents might decide to keep away girls from attending school in fear of such cases as violence and rape against the female students.

Effects of conflicts in Africa on Security

Armed conflicts have posed a lot of security issues to many Africans, such as loss of property and lives. When such a dispute arises between warring nations, the security of its citizens is negatively affected, resulting in loss of lives and properties. For instance, a significant number of African people, female, male, old, young, military, and civilians men have lost their loved ones and lives to different conflicts and wars across the continent. As a result of the Rwandan genocide that occurred in 1994, approximately 800,000 Rwandan people were killed (Mogire, & Mogire, 2011).

Similarly, in 2000, 200,000 lives were lost as a result of the Burundi civil war. Besides, between 1990 and 2004, at least 250,000 lives were claimed due to the 14-year civil war in Liberia. Perhaps, the most serious and pathetic case happened in Sudan. Conflict in Sudan has been one of the costliest and longest civil war on the continent, which has claimed about two million people who lost their lives as well as their property. It is very disheartening to note that as a result of conflicts and civil wars across the African continent, the security of the citizens has been breached, leading to unprecedented loss of property and lives, which in turn has a debilitating effect on human resources present to Africa.

Similarly, armed conflicts have led to the emergence of refugees in Africa because of the lapse in security measures. The refugee problem is one of the attendant impacts of conflicts and wars in Africa that has led to a large number of internally and externally displaced persons who have been part and parcel of refugees in various countries across Africa (Mogire, & Mogire, 2011). It is embarrassing to note that lawlessness and violence have led to the serious humanitarian crisis across Africa because many displaced persons are currently spreading across all of Africa.

Civil wars and conflicts create a porous territory that serves as a haven for the smuggling of illegal products and drug trafficking for terrorists. The end product of civil wars in the sense that large areas of concern to rural territories cease to be managed and controlled by state or government was leading to the criminalization of the economy across the continent (Mogire, & Mogire, 2011). In this case, storage and distribution channels rely upon a lack of security measures generated by political uncertainty and civil war. Also, civil wars and conflicts can lead to a lack of peace between warring nations hence does not guarantee prosperity and progress across the continent.

Conclusion

In the late twentieth century, since independence, many of the African nations have been dealing with the challenge of inter-state conflicts and civil wars. This problem has taken for a ride Africa's development in various ways such as loss of lives and properties of her illustrious daughters and sons, economic sabotage, and systems of education, which has hindered the process of cohesion and integration in Africa. Looting, arson, and thuggery have been part and parcel of political culture and conflicts in Africa (Azam, 2001). To witness rapid development and growth and favorably compete with other continents in the world, African nations should not allow these impacts of civil wars and conflicts to take effect. All Africans should be on the deck to prevent this negative impact on education, economy, and security and chart a new way forward to address these problems in Africa. This will enhance adequate education, security, and the economy as well as the life and property of African nations. There is a need to have a more in-depth knowledge of economic, social, and political factors that generate a problem as well as its consequences in addressing civil wars and conflicts. More importantly, priority needs to be given to three critical areas of the economy, security, and education to determine and build the resilience of these systems to design policy frameworks and safeguard the interests of the African citizens.

References

Azam, J. P. (2001). The redistributive state and conflicts in Africa. Journal of Peace Research, 38(4), 429-444.

Barrios-Tao, H., Siciliani-Barraza, J. M., & Bonilla...