Understanding Conflict Dynamics: Identifying ‘attractors’ in the Alavanyo - Nkonya Conflict

One of the key attributes of ethnic conflicts is that they could be complex and intractable. Peace-building efforts aimed at resolving ethnic conflicts therefore need to be informed by the interwoven factors that bring dynamism and complexities (intractability) to the conflict. In an exploratory qualitative study of the almost century-old, seemingly intractable Alavanyo-Nkonya conflict in Ghana, a thematic analysis of primary and secondary data revealed some significant elements (attractors) that contribute to the positive and negative dynamics of the conflict. The study identifies four elements that serve as positive attractors (peace factors) and negative attractors (tension factors) in this conflict. These include, conflict management efforts, anonymous killings, communal content over time, and the media. Out of these four, one (anonymous killing) is an outright negative attractor and the other three could serve as positive or negative attractors depending on the time, nature and circumstance under which they manifest. These three are fluid attractors and have shown to be more or less determining of the conflict depending on how they impact the conflict and perceived by conflict parties. Overall, this study finds that the effect of positive attractors have had a greater influence than negative attractors and this could explain why relative calm exists in the area over the course of the conflict. The study concludes that the Alavanyo-Nkonya conflict is protracted because of these dynamics and recommends that state agencies and mediators adopt a modified peace-building approach that transforms the conflict, pays attention to original conflict actors and pursue the possibility of amicably setting aside the hurdle of previous court rulings. Keywords: Conflict Dynamics, Ethnic Conflicts, Peace-building, Alavanyo, Nkonya, Ghan

Institutions and Pastoralist Conflicts in Africa

Pastoralist conflicts are important global development outcomes, especially in Africa. Analysing relevant literature on this phenomenon, we identify “institutions” as a key but fragmented theme. This blurs a composite understanding of how institutions affect these conflicts and their management. Hence, this article proposes a conceptual framework that brings harmony to this discourse by analysing 172 relevant publications. The framework was then tested using evidence from interviews and policy documents collected on a typical case in Agogo, Ghana. The findings show that pastoralist conflicts in Africa are shaped from three main dimensions: institutional change, institutional pluralism, and institutional meanings. Thus, state-level institutional changes create different institutions at the community level, and stakeholders using these institutions place different evaluations on them based on obtained outcomes. These dynamics contribute to conflict management dilemmas. Hence, the study recommends that intervention efforts examine whether new institutions contradict existing ones and to resolve them before implementation