The dispute over Western Sahara dates back to 1975 and is Africa’s longest-running territorial dispute. Western Sahara had been a Spanish colony since 1884. Although Spain surrendered the territory in 1975, Western Sahara failed to gain national independence. Instead, Mauritania and Morocco filled the void, and Mauritania ceded its claim to Morocco in 1976. The nationalists in the region responded by forming the Polisario in 1973. Supported by the Algerian government, which has a longstanding rivalry with Morocco, the Polisario waged a guerilla war against Moroccan occupiers and to this day, the conflict between the Polisario and Morocco has not been resolved. In April 1991, the United Nations established MINURSO, the United Nations Mission for a Referendum in Western Sahara. It’s brief was to implement a peace plan outlined in a 1990 Security Council resolution and broker a ceasefire. While the ceasefire held, the mission was never fully deployed and the negotiations have been at a standstill since 2004 after UN special envoy James Baker resigned. The Polisario believes that the status of Western Sahara should be determined by its people, but Morocco claims the territory as its own. The conflict of Western Sahara deserves global attention because the was has caused the displacement of thousands of people and many deaths. There are many reports of violence and human rights abuses in the territory. For example, Western Sahara citizens are able to protest but the police will often disperse them violently. Europe and the United States say their worry is that the conflict is souring relations between Morocco and Algeria and preventing them from working together against Islamist violence. Also the eight Millennium Development Goals e... ... middle of paper ... ...lution must partly satisfy both sides and somewhat doesn’t meet their request. For example, I would recommend the UN to propose Western Sahara to be like a Special Administrative Region like Hong Kong and Macau, including the right to maintain it’s own government, system, and to manage it’s own internal affairs. A special administrative region states that the territory will control everything except national defense and foreign affairs. I think that this proposal will meet the demands of both sides because the territory of Western Sahara will function as a separate customs territory, but foreign affairs and defense will be Morocco’s responsibility. Also according to the basic law of a Special Administrative Region, Morocco’s army cannot interfere in the territory’s local affairs and that an elected local government will be responsible for maintaining public order.
Prior to French imperialist seizure of Algeria, Algeria was a part of the Ottoman Empire. Algeria was governed by the method of indirect rule, and Algeria essentially had freedom. Algerian sea explorers occupied the Mediterranean sea, and European states paid these explorers for the protection of their ships. In the late 18th century, the Ottoman Empire was in decline, which the European states took advantage of, in order to,“challenge corsair domination.” (History, Ottoman Rule) This background information could explain some of the motives for the French imperial conquest of Algeria. For example, terminating the presence of Algerian explorers in the Mediterranean could be applied to the excuse of the "civilising mission."
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.
...y where the mediator which in this case is UN can prepare the agenda, steps of reconciliation and possible solution to the conflict.
Imperialism in Africa took root in the late 19th century when European nations divided up the continent for their own benefit. Each nation practiced a certain type of rule over the Africans of which they conquered. For example, the Germans, the Dutch, and the French used the practice of Direct Rule over their colonies in Africa. This system is characterized by the colonizers need for the colonized to become assimilated into their culture. The purpose of this was to make the African people “civilized” and act like Europeans. The governing administrations forced on the native inhabitants by the colonial power were meant to undermine those institutions set in place by the indigenous people. By taking over the community’s government on all levels,
Economic ways started in the nineteenth century, still have a hold on the countries of the sub-Sahara today. These countries are all impoverished and have seen horrific civil wars, however, the general consensus is that they are making slow improvements in their economy. The starvation, overpopulation and health problems are still very evident. Perhaps continued assistance coupled with education and protection will keep them on the road to stability and more rewarding lives for their citizens.
In his article “Palestine Goes to the UN,” Khaled Elgindy draws up a set of cause-consequence scenarios for Palestine’s latest attempt at creating a state. The UN bid, which “marks a dramatic shift in the Palestinians’ approach to the conflict with Israel,” is set to be brought to the table in the UN General Assembly in September of 2011 (since that date has already passed, it will be assumed that we are still in the period prior to it for the purposes of the paper). Following Elgindy’s logic, the arguments of other authors, and the assumptions of the theories on international relations, I will demonstrate how the UN option will most likely fail, but without discounting the positive effect a ‘failure’ can have on the negotiation process.
Early 2011 uprisings swept across the Middle East and North Africa, and many rebellions are still going on today. The Arab region has seen revolts and conflict since the 1800‘s, but only recently have these revolts been redirected to the problems of Arab society (Ghannam, J. 2011 pg 4-5)The Arab Spring Uprising was first sparked in Tunisia and eventually struck Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Yemen and then spread to other countries. Citizens throughout these countries were dissatisfied with the rule of their local governments. Issues like human rights violations, political corruption, economic decline, unemployment, extreme poverty, dictators...
Sustainable reconciliation. (2013, January 16). International institute for democracy and electoral assistance (international idea). Retrieved from http://www.idea.int/conflict/sr/
One of West Africa largest empires is the Empire of Mali that was founded by Sundiata Keita. The empire is located in Sahel,which was on the border of Sahara Desert. The Empire of Mali became rich by controlling the Saharan trade. The Mali consisted of oral traditions that distributed great power and wealth. Mali empire was known for unity and prosperity. The empire of Mali affected West Africa by economy, culture, and architecture.
The Democratic Republic of the Condo has been experiencing violence and instability all throughout its young history due to political and ethnic differences. Unrest has pegged DRC for years, the UN therefore intervenes to try to establish peace, and stability in an area that has experienced violence throughout the years. After two long wars in the past decade, the United Nations reports that about 3.8 million deaths have been caused by the wars, with 1,000 more deaths a day in direct relation to the interior conflicts. Many more have been displaced, and others have looked for ...
The Republic of Chad is a landlocked country in Central Africa, bordered by Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Niger to the west Cameroon and Nigeria to the Southwest and Libya to the north. In terms of geography, Chad is divided into multiple regions: a desert like zone in the north, an arid Sahelian belt in the center and fertile Savanna zone in the South. Under the leadership of François Tombalbaye, Chad obtained independence in 1960. However, because the country is composed of more than 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups, the more Muslim north resented Tombalbaye policies and took over. After multiple internal conflicts in between the rebels themselves, Idriss Deby, the current president has been leading the country to more prosperous times. However, while major oil reserves and cotton plantations have created new revenue, Chad is still one of the poorest and most corrupt nations in the world. And to add to Chad’s own problems, South Sudan’s current conflicts with Sudan and its own ethnic groups who accuse the government of border lining them has spilled into the surrounding regions. Chad has been swarmed with hundreds of thousands of refugees and the conflicts pose a great threat to the stable political system in our country. We’ve already observed many of the surrounding states see revolts and uprisings from the different ethnicities not only against their respective governments but also inter-ethnically.
The spread of Islam in Africa had taken course from a number of factors, including external and internal forces. After my analyzing of the spread of Islam in Africa, I have gather three main themes that stuck out during the expansion of Islam: Islam and trade, the conversion conditions of Islam, and the economics/political development involving Islam. These three themes provide great insight on how Islam started to spread through out Africa. Through trade the culture and religion of Islam was spread to many different areas. This correlates to the conversion of different people, which helped spread Islam. By these conversions Islam was able to establish Islamic states, which played a factor in the development of strong economic and political
Every country around the world has its own philosophy and evolution. Morocco, a country located in North West Africa, broadly exposed on the Atlantic Ocean from the west, and the Mediterranean Sea from the north. The Strait of Gibraltar, which unites the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, splits Morocco from Spain by eight miles. Morocco is the foundation of numerous cultures and is prominent by its biodiversity. The languages spoken vary from Arabic, French, Berber, Spanish and English. Abundant plains lie beside Morocco 's coasts, and wooded mountains stretch through the middle of the country. Outside the mountains lies a sundried desert, the Sahara. Casablanca is the largest city and Rabat is Morocco 's capital. However, what is astonishing
What is the impact of colonialism on the economic development of Sub-Saharan Africa (Africa) or more generally the colonized countries? This is a question which has reiterated itself through the social sciences for over a century. Colonialism refers to the establishment of political and economic control by one state over another. The colonial experience began in the late 1400s, when Europeans arrived and set up trading posts in Africa. They became interested in Africa as a whole. Europeans were impressed with the abundance of natural resources. It reached a peak in the late 1800s and early 1900s, when European powers dominated many parts of the continent. Colonialism in Africa created nations and shaped their political, economic, and cultural
The liberation of Africa was a slow, often violent, process. The continent, having been torn apart by colonial powers was fraught with ethnic and tribal divides. This made liberation movements complicated because of the necessity for non-existent nationalization. In most countries this caused the movement towards liberation to be a violent struggle, often resulting in war, mass murder, and in one instance, genocide. Even in some of the semi-successful transitions, warlords or autocratic dictatorships. The liberation of the Congo is one such example. Few countries were able to transition fully without violence or major issues. The country of Ghana was the first to gain independence in Africa, also being one of the only successful liberation