The Myth and the Reality History of Wars in Africa Independence movements mainly peaceful protests riots armed conflict in some countries mainly those with white settlers The Cold War 19451990 proxy wars in Angola Mozambique Somalia Ethiopia not nuclear weapons but the AK4 ID: 312970
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "War and Violence in Africa" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
War and Violence in Africa
The Myth and the RealitySlide2
History of Wars in Africa
Independence movements: mainly peaceful (protests, riots); armed conflict in some countries, mainly those with white settlers
The “Cold” War (1945-1990): proxy wars in Angola, Mozambique, Somalia, Ethiopia; not nuclear weapons, but the AK-47Slide3
Rise of “Small Wars”
The use of the AK-47 or other low-tech weapons (machetes)
Confusion who is fighting: the rise of the “
sobel
” (both intent on living off civilians and capturing economic resources: e.g., diamond mines in Sierra Leone, elephant tusks in eastern Congo)
High civilian casualties: sometimes the direct victim of an attack; more usually, death from displacement, difficulty getting resources: e.g., in Sierra Leone, 15,000 civilians killed and 40% displaced internally or outside the country (out of population of 4m).
Koidu Diamond Holdings, Kono, Sierra LeoneSlide4
Thinking about violence and war anthropologically
Key insight #1:
War and violence express social conflict; if we understand the local social order, we can understand violence as
political
actions
What was Peter Uvin’s argument about why the genocide happened in Rwanda in 1994?
Kigali, RwandaSlide5
Thinking about violence anthropologically
Why did the RUF go to war against the state? Richards argues: “The crisis of
patrimonialism
”
What does this mean?
How does this relate to big men/big womenWhy the focus on youth?Why take over the diamond mines?
“The movement is a creature of the unresolved contradictions of the post-colonial state” (p. 553)Child soldiers of RUFSlide6
Thinking about violence anthropologically
Key insight #2:
Brutality and dehumanization occur through culturally symbolic actions
Violence is
performative
, symbolically communicative“Civilized”/”barbaric” (or the current terms: “modern” or “developed”)Why cut off the arms of civilians in Sierra Leone?
Brutal acts then become comprehensibleFather and child, displaced in FreetownSlide7
Thinking about violence anthropologically
Rambo’s “First Blood” (1982) as a key myth for the RUF
POA, p. 552
Note how global media become re-signified and made meaningful locallySlide8
Thinking about violence anthropologically
Social harmony = personal health
Curing of personal illness = curing of social disorder
In the Rwandan genocide of 1994,
Why so many checkpoints?
Why rape?
Why impaling?Slide9
Thinking about violence anthropologically
Key insight #3
Violence and war may not create a new and different social order
Rebellion may
express
and contain social changeWhat is a ritual of rebellion, according to Max
Gluckman?Nomkubulwana, the goddess of rain, harvest, and fertilitySlide10
Incwala ceremony, Swaziland