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Political hierarchies and landscapes of conflict across Africa
Almost all African states experience substantial and widespread political insecurity in a variety of forms. This analysis explains how relationships between groups and governments create incentives and disincentives for distinct forms of political violence to emerge. It argues that ethno-regional communities across Africa are situated within a power hierarchy that determines their relative importance to, and inclusion in, regimes. A dynamic power landscape emerges from relative group positions. Various positions within a hierarchy are associated with particular dominant forms of organized political violence as groups challenge political elites, but are bounded by their goals and characteristics. A failure to consider the political hierarchies and landscapes operating within African states has led to an under specification of the causal mechanisms driving different forms of violence, and an overstatement of benefits from declining civil war rates and inclusive governing coalitions.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Published version
Journal
Political GeographyISSN
0962-6298Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
42Page range
92-103Department affiliated with
- Geography Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes