Conflict Resolution And The Organization Of Security In Africa

Introduction

In an age of intersecting revolutions - military, political, economic, social - as we have in Africa today, the problems of maintaining peace and international order, inevitably become more complex. Yearly, events in Africa stress the urgent need for African states to intervene in African affairs. The acquisition of sophisticated and unlimited force by African nations is certainly as terrifying as it is new. But it must be borne in mind that this transforms conflicts rather than the source The existence of force is not by itself a threat to peace, as such. Indeed, the use of force is the normal way to keep the peace, Peace, in the sense of a utopian absence of war in Africa, may not be a reasonable expectation. A different ideal may be attainable peace in the sense of a generally accepted continental order which includes an effective machinery for settling disputes by persuasion and arresting violence by counter-force. Some aspects of this machinery could help to elimininate some of the causes of strife.