From the Publisher

Wars and Conflicts: Will Africa Ever Know Peace

Jideofor Adibe, PhD

In this edition

In the September/October edition of the journal, we focused on the issue of African identity and sought answers to a number of fundamental questions: who is an African Do all people regarded as Africans or having an African identity regard themselves as such Are all who regard themselves as Africans accepted as being so Where does African identity fit into in the mosaic of identities that people of African ancestry or people who have African passports bear What should be the basis of any relationship between Africa and Africans in the Diaspora

In this edition we are taking on one of the most intractable problems in the continent: wars and conflicts. Africa has a disproportionate share of global conflicts and wars. Some of the implications of this are clear: resources in conflict areas are diverted away from where they are needed most to procuring arms and containing insurrections, the image of the continent as a figurative expression for anarchy is reinforced in the western imagination, investors run scare, and the continent continues what some cynics have referred to as its terminal decline to the abyss.

With wars and conflicts as part of any narrative for Africas underdevelopment, some questions beggar answers: Is Africa, specifically sub-Saharan Africa, doomed Will Africa ever know peace What are the real causes of wars and conflicts in the continent And what should be done to prevent wars and effectively manage conflicts

We have assembled some eleven thought-provoking articles on the theme, each focusing on a different dimension of the problem. As a framework, we have reprinted (with permission) the extensive report of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, to the Security Council, on the issue. We have reproduced the entire report - an exception to our strict policy that articles for the journal should be a maximum of 4,000 words. In fact so important do we consider the theme of wars and conflicts in Africa that one of our sister journals, the African Journal of Political and Social Research, a peer-reviewed scholarly quarterly, will debut next year with the theme (see page).
We believe the contributions on the theme, and the discussions of some of the contributions that follow (in our unique seminar/workshop format) are very thought-provoking, and will certainly be useful to policymakers on Africa and others engaged in conflict management elsewhere.

Besides the lead themes we have also assembled other thought-provoking articles  from an assessment of the relevance of Prime Minister Tony Blairs Africa Commission, to a review of AIDS narratives in African fiction.

Next edition

Since the events of 11 September 2001 and their aftermaths, war on terrorism has been the dominant global rhetoric. In the US and much of the Western world, it has been one of the primary determinants of foreign policy. In the just concluded US presidential election, it was decisive in influencing the outcome of the election. But how has the war affected Africa How does Africa see terrorism Where does Africa stand in the whole war against terror And what are the implications of the war for Africas development aspirations, and for the entire democracy project in the continent
Read about all these and more in the January/February 2005 edition of the journal.