Kevin Clore
5/15/2014
Jennifer Giardina
Civil Conflict in Africa
Research Paper
War has been ever present since the beginning of time. The reasons for war will vary from war to war. One type of warfare that has been around for as long as there have been records is civil wars. Since the end of the Second World War in 1945, there have been more than sixteen and a half million people have died from internal conflicts compared to over three million in wars between states (Trei). The big difference means that civil wars are deadlier in recent history compared to war between two different countries. The key point of a civil war is that the government has to be involved in the fighting; usually this means that it is the government forces against a rebel group. Civil wars can be divided into two subsets of wars, ethnic and non-ethnic. In Africa, there has been a high concentration of civil wars since the countries gained independence in the mid 1900’s. Rwanda is a well-known example of a civil war in Africa. Rwanda’s civil war is known around the world as an ethnic civil war. Sudan is another example of a country that has been ravished by civil war because of differences in ethnic groups. There have been fighting around the continent of Africa that has been non-ethnic based civil wars. There are a smaller number of these types of war. A non-ethnic civil war was fought in Mozambique. Another civil war that was fought on a non-ethnic scale was the civil war of Angola. While there have been many different ethnic civil wars there has been a different thought that has become more prevalent recently that states these so called ethnic civil wars are not ethnic based at all but a tool used for other reasons. Whichever way that p...
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... the United States. The problem with the two of those countries involved in the mediation talks was that they were involved in the war by choosing a side and backing them (Lloyd). This seems to point in the direction of the international community should stay out of civil wars, both ethnic and non-ethnic based, until the two warring parties want them to help negotiate a peace deal. Then leave peacekeepers of the United Nations who have no bias towards any one side there for a long time to make sure that everything is going as planned. That could mean that like the world saw in Angola, Sudan, and Mozambique a long civil war that kills many people. The international community doesn’t like that type of violence, especially, for that long of a period of time. Therefore, they are still just as likely to step in and try to mediate the warring parties.
The article, “The Negro’s Civil War in Tennessee, 1861-1865” by Bobby L. Lovett, can be found in "The Journal of Negro History. Lovett's article relates the importance of the contributions the black soldiers of Tennessee made during the Civil War. He portraits to the reader the determination of these black Tennesseans fight to gain their freedom under some extremely violent and racial conditions.
Firstly, war is initiated by country having more power and wanting to expand their territory or to gain more resources. For example, in the essay The Ecstasy of War (1997) by Barbara Ehrenreich, she stated “that wars are designed, at least ostensibly, to secure necessaries like land or oil” (Ehrenreich 43). Therefore, countries wanting to have more land or important resources will initiate a war if the other country is not in accordance in willing to
History is full of people fighting against one another and going to war for all types of different reasons. For the most part countries go to war to either protect their way of life, or for a better way of living. We want to preserve certain aspects of life like our rights, as well as helping others gain or maintain them, we also want to be able to prosper as a country. When one or some of these things are threatened a country will go to war. Some wars that fallow this trend include the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War. Besides protecting or bettering life, war can also make or break a countries economy.
On April 12, 1861, Abraham Lincoln declared to the South that, the only reason that separate the country is the idea of slavery, if people could solve that problem then there will be no war. Was that the main reason that started the Civil war? or it was just a small goal that hides the real big reason to start the war behind it. Yet, until this day, people are still debating whether slavery is the main reason of the Civil war. However, there are a lot of facts that help to state the fact that slavery was the main reason of the war. These evidences can relate to many things in history, but they all connect to the idea of slavery.
In the spring 1861, years of building tensions between the northern states and southern states resulted in the American Civil War. In 1680 an anti-slavery Republican, Abraham Lincoln was elected president causing seven southern states to secede from the union. These seven states included--Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas--. These seven states formed the Confederate States of America. The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 to May 9, 1865 and claimed more than roughly 620,000 lives. So what caused the Civil War? The three main causes of the Civil War were differences between the north and the south in economies, disagreements in abolishing slavery, and whether the State or Federal
The Civil War was a war fought between the the North and South in 1861. The Civil War happen because of hard tensions between the North and South over whether or not slavery rights follows with them in the new states in the westward expansion. The presidential election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven Southern states to secede from the Union and form the Confederate States of America, four more states later on joined them. The Civil War had many battles and the South had to go against the North and Confederate States which also made it hard for them. The Civil War ended in the
The Civil War broke out soon after a collection of eleven southern states left the Union to form their own country, and preserve their way of life. These states proudly named themselves the Confederacy. Of course, the war ended badly for the Confederacy, it was destroyed, and slavery was abolished. The real question is, why did it take so long and have such high costs, especially when the country had expected a quick victory? Despite how it looked, the North did not have all the advantages. The North and South shared political, economic, social and military strengths, along with weaknesses.
When the Age of Imperialism began in 1875, it effected Africa in many ways. Nowhere was the competition for colonies more intense than in Africa. Europeans went after North and South Africa splitting up the continent. Egypt and Sudan were taken over by Britain to obtain the Suez Canal. Imperialism helped to develop Africa’s economy and turned it into a continent of colonies.
In this section, I will provide a brief history of U.S. military involvement on the African continent, starting with the Barbary Wars and working up through the current date. This historical documentation will highlight the change in the role the United States has played in Africa [post 9-11???]. Prior to 9-11, the United States’ interactions were mainly [capture summary here]. Since [?], however, the continent has faced a marked increase in violent extremism and terrorism leading the United States to partner with many African nations in counterterrorism initiatives. These, and other initiatives, mean an increasing number U.S. service members are deploying to Africa to take part in training, humanitarian issues and military operations. These military activities are run by United States African Command, a recently created combatant command.
The African empires, kingdoms, and cities had many achievements before the arrival of the Europeans. Some of these achievements had influences many other places in the world. Three major achievements were the trading systems, their military forces and strengths of its people, and the wealth and success.
Generally, war results from arguments between nations over things like land, power, money, or religion. War over religion contradicts religion itself. In the passage titled “On War”, James Boswell states, “That amiable religion which “proclaims peace on earth,” hath not as yet made war to cease.” If religion proclaims peace on earth, then war goes against those morals.
The American Civil War, also known as the War Between the States, or simply the Civil War in the United States, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865, after seven Southern slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America . The states that remained in the Union were known as the "Union" or the "North". The war had its origin in the fractious issue of slavery, especially the extension of slavery into the western territories. Foreign powers did not intervene. After four years of bloody combat that left over 600,000 soldiers dead and destroyed much of the South's infrastructure, the Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and the difficult Reconstruction process of restoring national unity and guaranteeing rights to the freed slaves began.
War has always been, and will always be, a necessary action perpetrated by man. There are many reasons for war: rage, passion, greed, defense, and religion, to name a few. When differences cannot be resolved or compromised through mediation with an opposing party, war is the last remaining option. Muslim historian Ibn Khaldun wrote in fourteenth-century Spain, that “War is a universal and inevitable aspect of life, ordained by God to the same extent as the sky and the earth, the heat and the cold. The question of whether to fright is not a significant moral question because fighting is constant; the minor decision not to fight this war will be made only in the context of knowing that another war will present itself soon enough because it is simply always there.”
An overwhelming majority of African nations has reclaimed their independence from their European mother countries. This did not stop the Europeans from leaving a permanent mark on the continent however. European colonialism has shaped modern-day Africa, a considerable amount for the worse, but also some for the better. Including these positive and negative effects, colonialism has also touched much of Africa’s history and culture especially in recent years.
War has been around for centuries. From the time modern civilizations began, war has played an integral part in human history. It shaped the world into the modern world we live in. War has been said to be a great motivator, for example, the Great Wall of China was built to fend off the attackers from the north. However, the negative aspects of war far outweighs any positive effects it might have. The destruction of civilizations, cities and countries, mass killings of men, woman and children alike, the disastrous effect it has on economy and the after effects of war can last for centuries.