(iPoster) Are Western Interventions a Useful Solution to Africa's Armed Conflicts?

• In Event: Poster Session: South Asian Politics & Economics, Information Warfare, and Conflict Management
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Economics, Information Warfare, and Conflict Management

Abstract

Humanitarian crises are on the rise, and the UN and other Western interventions are not subsiding. On the African continent, the UN and the international community have redoubled down their efforts to stymie armed conflicts and address humanitarian crises within the liberal peacebuilding paradigm. In 2019, Africa was home to some of the largest peacekeeping missions globally, with seven out of the fourteen such missions taking place on the continent.

However, opposition to such interventions and peacebuilding efforts are growing in many parts of Africa. In Mali, diplomatic tensions and protests led to the withdrawal of French forces and the UN mission. In contrast, South Sudan presents a different case. Despite some attacks, the UN mission and other Western-led interventions have largely succeeded in stabilizing the government and limiting clashes, raising questions about why resistance to interventions is lower in South Sudan compared to other African nations and what this means for future peacekeeping efforts on the continent.

Using field interviews in Mali and South Sudan, and experts interviews at the UN headquarters in New York, this study challenges both the liberal peacebuilding process and the critical and decolonial efforts that seek to reject it. It advocates for a new approach to peacebuilding and foreign intervention that adapts to the fluidity of local perceptions, whether liberal, non-liberal, or a blend of both. The goal is to listen and respect local views, even when they differ from our own.

Author

• Felix Amoh-Siaw, The University of British Columbia - Okanagan