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Poverty, Relative Deprivation and Political Exclusion as Drivers of Violent Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa
Author: Pyt Douma
Date: 2006
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11 pages
(145 KB)
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Summary
How can states in sub-Saharan Africa better provide for the needs of their populations and reduce inter-group violence? This article from the Journal on Science and World Affairs examines poverty and conflict escalation in Niger and Senegal. The partiality of some state policies regarding resource distribution promotes inter-group inequality and contributes to violence. The incumbent state elite should adopt a long-term perspective based on cross-group solidarity. During the post-colonial period, the sub-Saharan region has witnessed a substantial number of violent conflicts, mostly within states between contending ethno-political entities manipulated by rival political elite groups. The problems within these so-called fragile or failed states are closely related to a lack of a ‘social contract’ between incumbent elite groups and constituent ethnic communities, which leads to political fragmentation. This is exacerbated by the interaction of diverse social, ethnic and resource exploitation-related issues. In sub-Saharan Africa, many states lack the capacity to extract sufficient resources to be able to provide a minimum level of services to the population at large. The economic dependency of many such states has increased because of structural macro-economic limitations. Furthermore, the state has become the prime target for elite competition, effectively crippling its potential for conflict mediation. The elite power struggle has increased the existing division between the state apparatus and the population, annihilating the embryonic legitimacy of the state as an impartial arbiter. The Tamajaq rebellion in Niger and the Jola insurgency in the Casamance region of Senegal show that poverty
resulted from a combination of ecological crises, land pressure, loss of response mechanisms and the desire to maintain a proper cultural identity within an unsupportive state.
In order to stem the tide of violent political confrontations, the state in sub-Saharan Africa needs to address resource-related problems and the crucial issue of impartiality in resource distribution. Issues highlighted include:
- Inter-group inequality: Structural inequality between urban centres and the countryside has been exacerbated by inadequate compensation to the peasantry for cash crop production and uneven service provision in rural areas.
- Selective resource exploitation: In the Casamance region of Senegal, for example, the Wolof–dominated state bureaucracy exploits a resource rich area but fails to compensate its traditional inhabitants, the Jola, adequately.
- Structural limitations to resource extraction: With sufficient resources, the state might reduce the potential for inter-group inequality to result in conflict. However, access to resources is limited by reliance on the export of single products and lack of extractive capacity through tax collection.
- The fragility of the state system in sub-Saharan Africa: The impact of external intervention aimed at supporting minimal governance conditions through financial support has, at best, only temporarily halted the process of state disintegration and the power struggle between contending elites.
Access full text: available online
Source:
Douma P., 2006, 'Poverty, Relative Deprivation and Political Exclusion as Drivers of Violent Conflict in Sub Saharan Africa', Journal on Science and World Affairs, Volume 2, Number 2, pp. 59-69
Author:
Pyt Douma
, casa.nostra[at]inter.nl.net
