Drawing on the words of African poets, singers, war veterans, and other witnesses and survivors of recent wars in Africa, this book shows how those who experienced the violence of war interpret that violence and shape and come to terms with its consequences.

"This study of successful mediation in a half-dozen violent conflicts across the African continent focuses on a hitherto neglected dimension of mediation and the motivations of the parties in conflict - and of the mediators themselves - in initiating the mediation option. The "problem" of many journalistic accounts and scholarly analyses of conflict mediation is that they detail the mediation process in full swing but have largely neglected the crucial phase of mediators' entry into the destructive and disturbing mass violence in Burundi, Rwanda, the Congo, Sudan, West Africa, and the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea. This collaboration of renowned scholars and a practitioner in conflict management and African politics seeks to draw wide-ranging and timely conclusions on the early stages of mediation from six case studies."--BOOK JACKET.

This book builds on the overarching theme of conflict management to reflect on negotiations, mediation, and conflict resolution in Africa.

This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

There are several definitions of conflict. Before elaborating on the definition that will guide reading, the author provides some of the definitions of conflict. Conflict is defined as derived from social beliefs and involves two or more parties who share incompatible objectives

"Introduces an innovative, practical approach to resolving an enduring issue: How can conflicts be resolved in polarized societies and fragile states?"--

South Africa has done much in the 15 years since the fall of apartheid to establish its leadership on the continent. It has been a constant architect of Africa's new peace and security architecture and an advocate of new diplomatic norms.