GEOG 2002: Geographies of Global Change: Spring 2006
 Instructor: Professor John O'Loughlin

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Debate 4

Resolving African conflicts

The fourth debate in week 13 of the class is on the subject of the current attempts to bring resolutions to the many civil wars and regional conflicts in Africa. We will use the crisis in Darfur to focus the debate, though you should be aware of the many other contemporary wars (Uganda, Congo, Cote d”Ivoire, Guinea etc). As you read earlier in the class, Africa has disproportionately been the site of civil wars over the past couple of decades as conflict has reduced in other parts of the world. Almost all conflict now takes the form of civil strife, often along ethnic lines and prolonged by the use of “lootable resources” by both rebels and governments. Return to the readings from early in the class to refresh your memories about the kinds of places that tend to have civil wars and what kinds of external involvements have both helped to bring about cease-fires as well as to extend wars over wider regions and involve more states. The readings are available through the usual login for the electronic reserves and are for the second and fourth weeks.

Week of 23 Jan	Economist “Failed States”.
Week of 6 Feb	Economist “Civil Wars”

THE major general issue is the balance between the sovereignty of states and the interest of the international community in protecting vulnerable populations as well as trying to bring peace to war-torn region. The recent arrest of Charles Taylor (former President of Liberia and wanted by the ICC in the Hague for war crimes in Sierra Leone) and his transfer to the court is an important development in tackling the legacy of war crimes in many African states. See this BBC story about the arrest. Note the different opinions expressed in African papers about the arrest.

There are five positions - each corresponding to a team. Each team is asked to respond to the 4 questions below in their presentation. For each team, we suggest web links if you want more information on the perspective that you are representing. You can also, of course, find other materials in the library or on the Web to help your argument. Frame your position in this debate about the current crisis in Darfur, Sudan as once again, the international community seems unable to either stop the attacks by the Sudan government and its allies, or to offer any coherent policy to resolve the fighting.

Team A

African Union

Main page of the African Union that explains its purpose (see the link – AU in a Nutshell) and an account of its activities. Here is an article that elaborates on the failures of the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur.

Team B

International Criminal Court (ICC)

This is the official website of the court which outlines its activities and aims. Here is an article from an interest group that wants more prosecutions for “crimes against humanity” specifically about Darfur. The Bush Administration has opposed US membership of the ICC because of fears that US service personnel might be prosecuted for war crimes. Here is a review of that argument

Team C

U.S. Government

The official site for US government policy and preferences in Africa is the State Department’s African page. The actions that the Bush Administration has taken in respect of the Darfur crisis is available from this page.

Team D

Sudan

We will use the Sudanese government as an example to illustrate the nature of the argument for “national sovereignty” and to make the case that rebels in Darfur and their supporters are also at fault.

Here is a story from the Christian Science Monitor that is linked from the Sudan Embassy webpage that attributes President Bush’s interest in Darfur to the “evangelized foreign policy” of the US and thus, a special interest in helping Christians in this predominantly Muslim country.

Team E

Global Policy Forum

This is an organization that monitors the activities of the UN and advocates international action on these kinds of internal wars. See this story, for example, written by a staffer making the case for a more activist stand by the UN and the Western nations on the atrocities in Darfur. Here is a BBC reporter’s account of the tragedy in Darfur and how it affects civilians caught in the fighting.

Answer these following 4 questions in your presentation:

1. State your interest in the African civil conflicts?
2. In your opinion, what is the reason behind the frequency of brutal civil wars in Africa over the past 15 years and especially Darfur?
3. What can be done to try to reduce civil war in poor regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa?
4. What should be the policy of the West (including the US) in respect of any kind of international involvements in Darfur?