Is War On The Decline In Africa?

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Africa Is Becoming More Peaceful, Despite The War In Mali -- The Guardian

The continent is stereotyped as being violent and increasingly unstable, but a closer look suggests that conflict is declining

Recent events in Mali, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan seem to confirm one of the most durable stereotypes of Africa, namely that the continent is unstable and uniquely prone to nasty political violence.

Writing in Foreign Policy two years ago, New York Times east Africa correspondent and Pulitzer Prize winner Jeffrey Gettleman espoused this view. He painted a dismal picture of pointless wars waged by brutes and criminals "spreading across Africa like a viral pandemic."

Gettleman is right that warfare and political violence are changing on the continent, but he is wrong to portray that change as one of brutal violence increasing out of control.

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My Comment: I am not that optimistic. Tribalism and ethnic animosities has been Africa's curse since the beginning .... and it does not take much for it to escalate into major regional conflicts. There may be peace in many parts of Africa today .... but history has taught us that such conditions are usually temporary.