The causes of return to conflict and the geopolitical dynamics in the horn of africa the eritreanethiopian border conflict. Hogendoorn, the deputy program director for africa with the international crisis group. The countries of the horn of africa ethiopia, somalia. Dec 05, 2020 on his part, salah eldin elzein argued that the tigray conflict is an example of poor management of the relationship between the centre and the periphery, one that many find repeatedly in a number of different countries, as the centre seeks to monopolize the greatest portion of power and wealth thus provoking the grudge and resentment of the. The laikipia case study, and also a broader examination across the horn of africa, reveals a number of specific factors that are contributing to the risks of violent conflicts between pastoralists and other communities living in the same areas. Several studies relate this process in the horn of africa to the recurrence of conflict clapham, 2003. Multilayered conflict in the greater horn of africa.
Pdf geopolitics of the horn of africa milovan radakovic. It asks whether, over the long term, economic drivers have the potential to transform endemic conflict among states or whether political stability is a precondition for enhancing economic cooperation. The risks of conflict are particularly severe during droughts and similar emergencies. From the myriad political and security crises in ethiopia ahead of elections to the enduring economic woes troubling sudans transition, this year promises to be pivotal. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa science. Local conflicts over access to and share of natural resources are on the increase and the region has the worlds highest maternal and child mortality rates. Conflicts have greatly affected the region over the past 50 years. However, from the eus side, the most visible element of its involvement in the region is the. Terrorism, war and conflict, an analysis into the horn of africa. Cape horn was discovered and first rounded in 1616 by the dutchman willem schouten, who named it kaap hoorn help info after the city of hoorn in the netherlands. The basis of understanding conflict, security and collective wellbeing of people includes relationships that dominate interactions of two or more entities in contact with one another. Your result will be displayed in the box either under or to the right of the find button depending on the width of.
Each of the countries of the horn somalia, ethiopia, eritrea, djibouti and sudansuffers from protracted political strife, arising from local and national grievance, identity politics and regional interstate rivalries. Over the past 20 years, the lack of a functioning government in somalia has been both the cause and effect of protracted conflict. These studies concede that warmaking leads to statemaking in some cases eritrea and the threedecade war for independence iyob, 1993. For many decades, the horn of africa has been acutely deprived of nonmilitary solutions to the problems that underlie the conflicts of the region. A new regional bloc between ethiopia, eritrea, and somalia and its consequences for eastern africa ingo henneberg and soren stapel abstract in january 2020, eritrea, ethiopia, and somalia proposed to form a new regional bloc, occasionally referred to as the horn of africa cooperation hoac. Conflict prevention in the greater horn of africa this simulation, while focused around the ethiopiaeritrea border conflict, is not an attempt to resolve that conflict. The horn of africa region stands out amongst the planets territories that are most volatile and vulnerable to armed violence.
Water and fodder availability along livestock trade routes in the horn. Somalia two conflict systems independent of one an. Studies by pierre englebert on both the democratic republic of congo and congo brazzaville in early 2000 established the link between economic. Formal processes to advance regional economic integration usually founder. East africa and the horn are often viewed in terms of the political marketplace, the challenges of which could begin to lead the region down a violent path. A case study of ethiopiasouth sudan borderland people, featuring mr.
The horn of africa is a region heavily impacted by wars and conflicts. Horn of africa what is, characteristics, history, countries. Although the causes of conflicts in africa are many and vary, economic difficulties, unresolved social and national question, elections related violence and rivalries among or between ethnic groups are considered primary. Interstate conflicts in the horn of africa 26 kidane mengisteab 3. The work also comprises an analysis of geopolitical characteristics of the horn of africa and provides a brief synthesis of the countries in the region. Crossborder intergroup conflicts in the horn of africa. Pastoral conflicts and official indifference in the horn of africa nene mburu abstract this article observes that although scholars have addressed the problem of the inherited colonial boundaries in africa, there are lacunae in our knowledge of the complexity of demarcating the kenyasudanethiopia trijunctional point known as the ilemi triangle. The laikipia case study, and also a broader examination across the horn of africa, reveals a number of specific factors that are contributing to the risks of violent conflicts between pastoralists and other communities living in. This report is the outcome of that exercise and hopes to guide and facilitate the design of. Ethiopia, kenya, somalia, sudan and uganda, which are members of the in. And after seven years of peace, ethiopia and eritrea returned to war, engaging in a highly destructive conventional conflict from 1998 to 2000. Operation enduring freedom horn of africa wikipedia. Conflict is not a new phenomenon in africa the last three decades have seen many civil wars and coups detat but the last ten years or so have seen a disturbing escalation in the violence, which increasingly crosses borders. The root causes of conflicts in the horn of africa.
Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due. The new external security politics of the horn of africa. Following the 911 attacks against the united states, the horn has come under increased scrutiny as a strategic focal point in the war against terrorism. To this could be added the diverse complexity and incompatibility of political systems in the region. The resurgent conflict in somalia comes against the backdrop of a successful exercise.
Table 1 main conflicts which took place in the horn of africa 195020157 war date theater of operations nature of the conflict number of casualties around first sudanese civil war 19561972 sudan intrastate 500k 4 in this work the horn of africa region refers to the member countries of the intergovernmental authority on development igad. The bar graph shows the development of the conflict lethality over time as it displays the total number of fatalities for each year caused by conflict events where both sides are armed actors involved in the protracted conflict in the horn of africa. Operational information on the east and horn of africa subregion is presented below. Many parts of the horn of africa remain unable to break free of armed conflicts, violent crime. From the great lakes region to the south and from the tropics in the west through the central region to the horn of africa, there is no region that is not contending with conflicts, most of them violent and protracted. Horn of africa has experienced a proliferation of foreign military bases and a buildup of naval forces. Map 2 drought prone areas in the greater horn of africa. Pdf pastoralism and conflict in the horn of africa omar.
Regional conflicts and international engagement on the horn. Address field enter an address, city, state, place name, postal code or any other name for a location into this field and then click the find button to retrieve its latitude longitude coordinate pair. Operation enduring freedom horn of africa oefhoa is a component of operation enduring freedom oef. For over a decade, the united states has considered the horn of africa kenya, ethiopia, djibouti, somalia, eritrea, and sudana major source of terrorism. South sudan and the emerging security implications for east. A, crisis groups horn of africa project director rashid abdi untangles the complex web of relations that tie the horn and the gulf. Burgess, phd stabilization, peacebuilding, and sustainability in an unstable and famineprone region like the horn of africa are predicated on a holistic approach that addresses environmental degradation, conlict, and their interrelationship. Thus the horn of africa continued to be a venue for a typically intricate story of a regional conflict, with a mix of idealism, real politic, ideology, partisan interest, vision and stupidity. The impact of conflicts in the horn of africa a case study of.
Semir yusuf is a senior researcher on the horn of africa in the institute for security studies addis ababa office. As conflicts mount, where does ethiopia go from here. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethnolinguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including us for their strategic interest over the region. A regional security perspective from and for the horn of. Conflict in the horn of africa the heritage foundation. Local conflicts over access to and share of natural resources are on the increase and the region has. The impact of conflicts in the horn of africa a case study. The foreign military presence in the horn of africa region. For decades, cape horn was a major milestone on the clipper route, by which sailing ships carried trade around the world. Muh latered contlt in the greater horn ot wlca page 1 a sudan s regional destabilizaton agenda rn the great lakes conflagration the conflicts in\olving somalis in the region each of these regionalleel conflcts will now be analczed in detall 1 sudans regonal destablzabon the bar in sudan evolved from an internal civil war to a regional security crisis in 19941995.
Regional conflicts and international engagement on the horn of africa. From the congo to the horn of africa to southern africa, the cold war fomented or facilitated destructive. Governments of the region have always sought to solve their problems in wars, making the region unremitting bedrock of armed conflicts and all sorts of humanitarian crises associated with it. Semir obtained his phd from the university of toronto in comparative politics and development studies. State and societal challenges in the horn of africa introduction.
The new external security politics of the horn of africa region. Amid security challenges, somalia is gradually recovering after more than two decades of conflict. Currently, we run conflict transformation programmes in the horn of africa and great lakes regions in partnership with local civil society organisations and universities in somalia, sudan, ethiopia, kenya and the drc. A summary of this can also be downloaded in pdf format. Tasew tafese gashaw, a doctoral candidate at addis ababa university. Crisis groups horn of africa director murithi mutiga joins alan boswell to debate which regional conflicts and crises are most prominent on their radars for 2021. Table 1 selected proxy wars in the horn of africa, 1960s to today state sponsor armed group target time frame somalia shifta somali kenyans of northern kenya kenya mid1960s eritrean peoples liberation front ethiopia 1970s1980s western somali liberation front ethiopia 1960s1980s somali abo liberation front ethiopia 1970s. Conflicts between the conservation of wildlife and human. The horn of africa has been at the centre of global attention for several decades because of protracted armed conflict, severe food crises and large scale displacement. You can hover over the individual bar to see the exact number of fatalities for each year.
The livestock export trade operation from the horn of africa hoa is often considered to be. His research focuses on conflict and peace studies, transition politics, authoritarian politics and ethiopian studies. Climate change and security in the horn of africa horn of africa context 7 horn of africa context the horn of africa is defined by the eu as the eight member countries of the intergovernmental authority on development igad djibouti, eritrea, ethiopia, kenya, somalia, south sudan, sudan and uganda. For the full version of this essay, download the pdf here pdf, 260 kb. Further, it explains the mutual relations and the nature of the conflict between ethiopia and eritrea, current military presence in the horn of africa and the importance of babelmandeb strait. Feb 20, 2012 4 mapping digital media digital media, conflict and diasporas in the horn of africa mapping digital media th e values that underpin good journalism, the need of citizens for reliable and abundant information, and the importance of such information for a healthy society and a robust democracy. Invasion of ancient egypt by the kingdom of kush and the land of punt 17th century bc. This report addresses the regional dimension to conflicts on the horn of africa. The horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. Conflicts in the horn of africa and implications for regional security 71 kassahun berhanu 5. Africa desperately trying to forge nationstates out of the cartographic contraptions of colonialism and to rid itself of the last vestiges of colonialism in the settler laagers of southern africa. After consultations, the scope of this project was expanded to comprise an assessment of capacity, and determination of the potential of institutions to respond to crises and conflicts in africa. Economically, unequal distribution of resources, corruption and struggle for control of ownership of natural resources not only trigger but also can sustain conflicts especially when the resources are on high demand in the international markets. Ethiopia, landlocked country on the horn of africa, the largest and most populous country in that region.
Conflicts in the horn of africa have been occurring since the 17th century bce. While the population of the horn of africa has doubled since the 1970s, food production and levels of community resilience have not kept up with that growth. The horn of africa includes the nations of djibouti, eritrea, ethiopia, somalia, and somaliland. The horn of africa is one of the most complex and conflicted regions of the world. Regional conflicts and international engagement on the. Violence between borderland peoples is fueled by improper natural resources distribution, the lack of natural resources management, engrained cultural assumptions, and the influence of climate change. Lost opportunities in the horn of africa reliefweb. The horn of africa has witnessed many incidences of violent conflicts in the last few decades as compared to any other part of the world. Understanding conflict and processes of state formation, reconfiguration and disintegration in the horn of africa. Pdf pastoralism and conflict in the horn of africa. The horn of africa djibouti, eritrea, ethiopia, somalia and sudan has experienced both intra and interstate conflicts. Top pdf traditional conflict resolution mechanisms, ethnic.
Critical factors in the horn of africas raging conflicts. East africa has always had to weather changes in the international context while also managing significant local political conflicts and economic problems. Gashaw presented a case study of conflict in the horn of africa. The external militarization of the horn poses major questions for the future security and stability of the region. Stabilization, peacebuilding, and sustainability in the horn. On november 8, 2017, the wilson center africa program hosted an event entitled crossborder intergroup conflicts in the horn of africa. Conflict and instability trends in the horn of africa make the region one of the most unstable regions in the world. It also proffers reasons as to why the conflicts will persist for some time. Apr 02, 2015 the horn of africa hoa has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe.
Conflictsensitive adaptation to climate change in africa africa portal. Djibouti, eritrea and sudan form a regional system in which conflict within any one of the countries. The horn of africa at the brink of the 21st century. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 41 that determine relationships. In the postcolonial era, from the late 1950s to the present, the region has experienced several devastating interstate wars, including the ethiopiansomali wars 1964, 197778, 20069, the kenyansomali war 1963, the ugandantanzanian war 197879 and the ethiopianeritrean border war 19982000.
Political conflict on the horn of africa by gormanrobert f. Conflicts are a complex phenomenon, but one feature does stand out. This week on the horn, alan boswell is joined by crisis groups senior analyst for gulf states, elham fakhro, to discuss what the recent accord between the gulf countries means for their geopolitical rivalries in the horn of africa. The gulf crisis and the scramble for military outposts in the horn of africa are exacerbating regional tensions that risk triggering a conflict. This sipri background paper is the first of three papers devoted to the new external security politics of the horn of africa. Economic drivers of conflict and cooperation in the horn of africa. The horn of africa is also a region of international strategic concern that touches on several security issues including violent conflicts, human rights violation, terrorism and migration.
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