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12. Reconciling a Fractured Sudan
- Author:
- Nureldin Satti
- Publication Date:
- 05-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Cairo Review of Global Affairs
- Institution:
- School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, American University in Cairo
- Abstract:
- To address Sudan’s problems, the efforts of the Sudanese people and international mediators must be synchronized.
- Topic:
- Protests, Reconciliation, Mediation, and Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sudan
13. From Conflict Actors to Constitutional Guardians? Reassessing Security-Sector Governance Under the 2025 Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of Lesotho
- Author:
- Bokang Moshoeshoe
- Publication Date:
- 06-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- This article critically examines whether the 2025 Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of Lesotho constitutes a substantive transformation in the governance of national security institutions or merely a reconfiguration of entrenched power relations. Grounded in Lesotho’s history of political instability and recurrent security-sector involvement in governance, the study adopts a qualitative doctrinal and interpretive institutional approach. It analyses the extent to which the Amendment restructures authority, strengthens oversight and promotes the depoliticisation of coercive institutions. The article finds that while the Amendment introduces important procedural reforms – particularly in relation to appointments, oversight mechanisms and professional standards – it does not fundamentally alter the concentration of authority within the executive. Consequently, the reforms align with international and regional norms on democratic security-sector governance yet fall short of achieving meaningful structural transformation. Executive dominance continues to shape the incentives that historically enabled politicisation. The article argues that constitutional reform in this context operates within the limits of constitutional engineering: enhancing formal accountability without fully addressing underlying political dynamics. Nonetheless, the Amendment provides a framework that may, over time, support the gradual consolidation of constitutionalism and institutional neutrality.
- Topic:
- Security, Reform, Justice, Peacebuilding, and Constitutionalism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Lesotho
14. Peace Dividends in Practice: How Local Peace Committees Foster Development and Stability in Zimbabwe’s Matabeleland
- Author:
- Munyayiwashee Shumba, Shadreck Khanye, and Vitalis Sibanda
- Publication Date:
- 06-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- This paper considers how community-led peace initiatives become drivers of economic development, infrastructure improvement and service delivery that are critical to peace and stability. It examines how grassroots peacebuilding, particularly through Local Peace Committees (LPCs) established by the Ecumenical Church Leaders Forum (ECLF), has contributed to post-conflict development and social stability in the Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe. The role of LPCs in facilitating community projects, restoring trust in leadership and promoting inclusive participation in development planning is assessed with the aim of contributing to the broader African debates on how locally driven development can anchor sustainable peace and stability, especially in the absence of strong state intervention. The paper draws on interviews with ECLF staff and community members from Matabeleland to assess how these efforts are creating tangible peace dividends and helping to stabilise a region marked by a history of unresolved conflict following the Gukurahundi atrocities and where a sense of neglect by central government is alive and well. The results show that LPCs are effective community structures that facilitate development by promoting social cohesion and that the strength of the LPCs lies in the fact that they are community-driven initiatives.
- Topic:
- Development, Justice, Post-Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Zimbabwe, and Matabeleland
15. Strengthening Africa-Led Peacebuilding in Stabilisation Contexts
- Author:
- Andrew E. Yaw Tchie
- Publication Date:
- 06-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- While the primary responsibility of the United Nations (UN) is to secure global peace, it has continued to emphasise the importance of partnerships with regional organisations. Consequently, the UN tends to get involved only after a relative level of peace is established. Conversely, the wider international community looks to regional organisations such as the African Union (AU) to address peacebuilding matters. It suggests that the AU has a relative level of agency to play a pivotal role in supporting national bottom-up and localised bottom-up peacebuilding initiatives crucial to the overarching aims of peace and stability. However, peacebuilding efforts often take a backseat in persistent violent conflicts, with stabilisation efforts taking centre stage. The paper examines the AU’s peacebuilding efforts to address conflicts and argues that, while these efforts are welcomed, its peacebuilding efforts can maintain and strengthen existing social structures, resulting in peacebuilding becoming a source of tension that legitimises some actors over others. The paper suggests that the AU must re-evaluate how it approaches peacebuilding in complex stabilisation environments and calls for a peacebuilding framework that considers the interconnectedness within the context of stabilisation.
- Topic:
- African Union, Peacebuilding, Regional Organizations, and Stabilization
- Political Geography:
- Africa
16. The Exclusion of Women From Formal Peace Negotiations: The Case of Liberia
- Author:
- Everjoy Magwegwe and Prince Zimuto
- Publication Date:
- 06-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- This study critically examines the persistent exclusion of women from formal peace processes. Through an in-depth case study of Liberia’s peace negotiations and analysis of global peacebuilding literature, it challenges the assumption that women are excluded because they lack the capacity to meaningfully participate. The study reveals that even when women possess significant conflict-resolution experience and leadership skills, as evidenced by Liberian women’s instrumental role in ending the civil wars in their country, they remain relegated to observer status in formal negotiations. The research also demonstrates how patriarchal power structures systematically limit women’s participation despite their demonstrated peacebuilding competencies. The paper proposes concrete policy recommendations, including enforceable participation quotas and gender-sensitive peacebuilding guidelines, to transform symbolic inclusion into substantive participation.
- Topic:
- Women, Negotiation, Exclusion, Peacebuilding, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Liberia
17. Through Youth Lenses: Reflections on the Impact of the Continental Framework for Youth, Peace and Security in Africa
- Author:
- Mpule Kgetsi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Before the global recognition of the Youth, Peace and Security (YPS) agenda through the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2250, Africa had already begun laying the groundwork through the African Youth Charter. Article 17 of the Charter, which provides for Peace and Security, when read in conjunction with provisions such as Article 11 on youth participation, establishes a clear normative foundation for integrating young people into peace and decision-making processes. Yet, despite its progressive content, the limited implementation of the Charter by the African Union (AU) and its member states relegated it to the margins of global peace and security practice. This article contends that while YPS frameworks have generated momentum for the adoption of the YPS agenda, progress in implementation remains slow, resulting in limited impact. The adoption of the Continental Framework for Youth, Peace and Security (CFYPS), along with its ten-year implementation plan, offered an opportunity to address the implementation gaps of the Charter and fulfil Africa’s long-overdue commitments to YPS. Inspired by UNSCR 2250, the framework also incorporates elements of the African Peace and Security Architecture, thereby placing the YPS agenda within key continental policy frameworks. The analysis that follows examines whether the CFYPS has substantially addressed the needs of Africa’s young peacebuilders. This approach allows for a critical evaluation of both the framework’s promises and its practical impact in translating policy into lived realities. The article will assess the extent to which the CFYPS has fulfilled its promises and will evaluate its contributions to peacebuilding and youth empowerment. In doing so, it aims to determine not only the framework’s policy relevance but also its practical impact on the lives of young Africans. Before the implementation of these frameworks, various studies existed that illustrated that the needs of young people did not always align with policy assumptions.
- Topic:
- Security, Youth, Peace, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa
18. Digital Dissent and Democratic Deepening: How Youth-led Protests are Reshaping Governance Accountability in Francophone West Africa
- Author:
- Chefor Ngwenyi Meungwe
- Publication Date:
- 04-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Between 2021 and 2025, Francophone West Africa witnessed a surge in youth-led protest movements that challenged the region’s governance architecture. From Senegal’s Y’en a Marre movement resurgence to citizen uprisings against constitutional manipulation in Guinea and Burkina Faso, young Africans deployed innovative strategies combining digital mobilisation with traditional street activism to demand accountability, democratic consolidation, and economic opportunity.1 These movements represent more than episodic resistance; they signal a generational shift in how political legitimacy is contested and negotiated across the region.2 This article examines the structural drivers, tactical innovations, and governance implications of youth protests in Francophone West Africa, with particular attention to Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Senegal. Drawing on recent protest cycles, it argues that youth movements have created new accountability mechanisms that operate outside and often in tension with formal democratic institutions. Understanding this dynamic is essential for policymakers seeking sustainable pathways towards inclusive governance in a region where 60% of the population is under 25 years old.
- Topic:
- Governance, Youth, Protests, Accountability, and Dissent
- Political Geography:
- Africa and West Africa
19. Exploring the Ideology of Pan-Africanism and Operation Dudula in South Africa’s Political Landscape: Youth Activism in an Era of Xenophobia
- Author:
- Melody Mbwadzawo Siangombe
- Publication Date:
- 04-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- Youth activism has long played a transformative role in Africa’s socio-political history, from anti-colonial struggles to democratic reform movements. It is through activism that the youth express feelings, impede and interfere in social, political, economic and environmental reforms in society for change to happen. These contemporary youth-led movements can shape national debates, yet they also grapple with complex social dynamics, including unemployment, inequality and political marginalisation. In South Africa, youth activism has been a defining force in the country’s history, evolving from a key pillar of the anti-apartheid struggle to a critical movement challenging post-apartheid failures in democracy, governance and socio-economic equity. Operation Dudula has emerged as a movement that seeks to address unemployment and perceived threats from foreign nationals through organised protests, often with a xenophobic tone.1 This paper situates Operation Dudula within the broader framework of pan-Africanism, a political and ideological philosophy that emphasises African unity, solidarity and collective self-reliance. By examining Operation Dudula’s ideology, strategies and impacts, this paper seeks to illuminate the intersection of youth activism, nationalism and xenophobia, and to explore avenues for constructive engagement that align with broader African ideals.
- Topic:
- Youth, Xenophobia, Pan-Africanism, and Activism
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
20. Historicising Youth and Peacebuilding in the Niger Delta
- Author:
- Emmanuella Chidimma Egejuru and Oladoyo Bode Akanbi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2026
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The Niger Delta region of Nigeria presents a unique case study for understanding how youth populations transition from conflict perpetuation to peacebuilding across different historical periods. This oil-rich area, comprising nine states, including Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Abia, and Imo, occupies approximately 70 000 square kilometres of ecologically significant territory.1 The region houses over 500 densely populated rural ethnic minority communities, each with distinct historical experiences of resource extraction, environmental degradation and political marginalisation. Understanding youth involvement in peacebuilding requires examining how this role has evolved through distinct historical phases, from pre-colonial communal governance systems to colonial exploitation, post-independence oil discovery, militant uprising, and contemporary peace initiatives. This historical approach reveals that youth engagement in peace processes is not a recent phenomenon but rather reflects changing political economies, governance structures, and international frameworks across different periods. By tracing this evolution, we can better understand current challenges and identify sustainable pathways for youth-centred peace consolidation.
- Topic:
- History, Youth, Conflict, Engagement, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Nigeria, and Niger Delta