Conflict Trends in the Horn of Africa and Implications on Security: Special Reference to the Greater Sudan

Abstract

Peace building strategies in the management of conflicts in the horn of Africa has been studied through IGAD context, focusing on Sudan, 1956 to 2015. The study identified gaps which included persistent conflict despite several mediators including IGAD getting involved in the management of the conflict. The objective of the study was to examine the nature of the conflict faced by IGAD in the adoption of the peace process. The guiding question was what is the nature of the conflict affecting the Sudan? This study would help formulate policies regarding the mediation process, conflict management and the role of regional organizations as mediators, while acting as scholarly reference material. The scope of the study was on IGAD’s function on mediation in the Sudan, limited to the activities 1956 - 2015, while adopting descriptive and historical designs. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through interview schedules and questionnaire at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, IGAD liaison office and embassies of the member states. A sample population of 300 was purposive sampled and adopted. Through the objectives of the study, data was analyzed thematically. The outcomes focus on the conflict management in Sudan, significant in view of the long-standing historical questions that led to the hardening of positions that make the North antagonistic to the South as contentious issues played out in religious, racial and economic terms. It emerged that the Sudan conflict was brought about by resources, colonial legacy and historical injustices, ethnicity, religion and quest for self-determination. The study recommended that IGAD as well as other regional and sub-regional organizations should adopt preventive mechanisms where they act on information generated from early warning systems as opposed to intervening when the conflict is on course.