Russia’s peace mediation in Africa: An assessment

In recent years, Russia has become a major power broker in the Middle East, and now is aspiring to repeat the feat in neighbouring regions, particularly in Africa. It was predominantly the use of hard power in Syria that propelled Russia to the current influential position in the region, yet the political, financial and security costs of the use of power politics are poised to grow, which necessitates the prioritization of the diplomatic dimension, with such conflict resolution instrument as peace mediation playing an increasingly prominent role. The success Russia has had with the Astana peace process for Syria naturally encourages it to offer its good offices to other countries in the region and beyond, including Africa, which is particularly suffering from conflict. In early 2019, Russia brokered the signing of the Khartoum Peace Agreement between the parties to the conflict in the Central African Republic. In early 2020, Moscow hosted Libya peace talks. The aim of the study is to evaluate the theoretical, practical and geopolitical underpinnings of mediation employed by Russia and assess its potential in Africa. The theme is particularly relevant due to the holding of the First Russia–Africa Summit in 2019, which accentuated security as one of the key areas of Moscow’s cooperation with the continent. Methodologically, the present work relies heavily on contemporary conflict resolution research. The study is based on a wide range of scholarly papers and documents of international organizations. The present paper argues that peace mediation has become an important policy tool for Russia in Africa, and that it may also provide for strengthening Moscow’s position as one of the key providers of security on the continent. © 2020 Russian Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved

Historical and Cultural Roots of the Conflict in Sudan's Darfur Region

Sergey Kostelyanets focuses on the historical and cultural background and causes of the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, which commenced in 2003 and has been continuing with greater or smaller intensity until present. The author finds the roots of the current confrontation in certain aspects of the policies of sultans of Darfur (the 17th–20th centuries), in the Mahdist uprising (the late 19th century), in the colonial Sudanese politics of Great Britain, and in the policies of the Sudanese governments of the postcolonial period. Kostelyanets emphasizes that the racial and tribal affiliation of Darfurians remains a powerful factor of conflict, but refutes the opinion of those researchers who believe that the conflict in Darfur is primarily a confrontation between Arabs and non-Arabs living in the region. In particular, it is noted that the majority of Arabs in the region are not genetic Arabs, but Arabized Africans, so the conflict between Arabs and Africans is artificial and is largely a product of the policy of ‘divide and rule'. The author believes that the main reasons and prerequisites for the conflict include the lack of access to natural resources for many groups of the population, the economic and political marginalization of the region, the unresolved land issue, and ill-advised administrative reforms

Russia's Peace Initiatives in the MENA Region: Evaluation and Prospects

Russia's recent thundering 'return' to the Middle East is first and foremost an obvious result of the effective use of hard power, rather than the tools of soft power such as economics or diplomacy, which played important but secondary roles. The most visible symbol of this return is the establishment of two permanent sovereign Russian military bases in Syria. Indeed, Moscow has extensive experience in employing hard power to protect its interests, but political, financial and security costs and risks of its application are aplenty, which will dictate Russia's more cautious policy on this matter in the future. Having gained a military foothold in the region, Russia now seeks to augment its influence in the MENA region further, and increasingly through the use of soft power, particularly diplomatic initiatives. The Astana-Sochi process is the format that Russia has moulded for this purpose. The study seeks to provide, first, an analysis of the Astana-Sochi process for Syria, its theoretical foundations and practical implementations, evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses, and then explore its applicability in the MENA region considering both objective features of the format and more subjective implications of the wider Russian involvement in the region against the backdrop of rising tensions between Moscow and the West

IGAD’s Mediation and Peacekeeping in Africa: Challenges and Perspectives

Since the early 1990s, mediation, peacemaking and peacekeeping have come to occupy an increasingly important place in international relations due to the general trend towards the abandonment of the principle of non-interference in domestic conflicts amid the post-Cold War détente. Another major trend has been the growing role of regional organizations in the sphere of conflict prevention and resolution. Africa remains the leading continent in terms of the number of countries affected by armed conflicts and post-conflict situations. In particular, the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) has experienced three civil wars in the past few decades—in Sudan, Somalia and South Sudan. IGAD has become one of the most prominent regional communities of the African Union in terms of conflict resolution due to its vital role as a mediator and peacekeeper in the three aforementioned countries. The present study seeks to analyze IGAD’s strengths and weaknesses and make conclusions regarding the potential of its peace and security dimension. Methodologically, the study draws on primary and secondary (scholarly and media) sources to identify and analyze fundamental processes and forces of change within the overarching paradigms of international relations and conflict resolution. The author comes to the conclusion that IGAD has significantly enhanced its potential in the area of conflict resolution since the 1990s and established itself as the leading actor in this field in East Africa, yet internal contradictions erode its effectiveness and may preclude the formation of a robust standby mechanism for peace enforcement in the region. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Либерия: всеобщие выборы 2017 г

The article examines the results of the 2017 presidential elections in Liberia - a country that for many years had been engulfed in a bloody military and political conflict, and then underwent the lengthy period of post-conflict reconstruction, which has in no small measure affected the nature of electoral processes and political development of the country as a whole.В статье рассматриваются результаты президентских выборов 2017 г. в Либерии - стране, которая долгие годы была охвачена кровопролитным военно-политическим конфликтом, а затем переживала период многолетнего постконфликтного восстановления, что в немалой степени сказалось на характере электоральных процессов и политического развития страны в целом

УГАНДА: ОТ ДВИЖЕНИЯ СВЯТОГО ДУХА К АРМИИ СОПРОТИВЛЕНИЯ ГОСПОДА (К ВОПРОСУ О ХРИСТИАНСКОМ ТЕРРОРИЗМЕ В АФРИКЕ)

Islamic terrorism has become a part of everyday life. Countless books and dissertations attempt to analyze the activities of Islamic terrorists. On the contrary, Christian terrorist groups operating in countries and regions all around the world receive much less attention, although they are no less dangerous. In the authors' view, "Christian terrorism" can be defined as extremist activities characterized by a high level of violence, which, according to terrorists, is necessary for achieving the religious or, rather, pseudo-religious goals of "purifying" the faith itself and its adherents from all sorts of "filth", of fighting "evil", and of building the "Kingdom of God"-a society of "general prosperity". The article examines the causes, preconditions for the emergence, and activities of the Lord's Resistance Army, analyzes the religious views of its leader Joseph Kony, as well as external and internal factors that have influenced the tactics and strategy of the organization. It also assesses the religious nature of the movement and forecasts the spread of Christian extremism on the African continent.Исламскому терроризму, ставшему в последнее время повседневной реальностью, ежедневно посвящаются статьи и репортажи, о деятельности исламских террористов пишутся книги и диссертации. Христианским же террористическим группам, действующим во многих странах и регионах мира, уделяется значительно меньше внимания, хотя они не менее опасны. Под “христианским терроризмом” авторы понимают экстремистскую деятельность, отличающуюся высоким уровнем насилия, “необходимость” осуществления которого террористы объясняют религиозными или, скорее, псевдорелигиозными целями “очищения” самой веры и ее приверженцев от всяческой “скверны”, борьбы со “злом” и выстраивания в “отдельно взятой” местности/стране “Царства Божия”. В статье рассматриваются причины, предпосылки возникновения и деятельность христианской террористической организации Армия сопротивления Господа, анализируются религиозные взгляды ее лидера Джозефа Кони, а также внешние и внутренние факторы, повлиявшие на тактику и стратегию группировки. Даются оценка религиозной сущности движения и прогноз распространения христианского экстремизма на Африканском континенте

The European Union, China and Africa: Trilateral security cooperation

The main security problems on the African continent include intrastate conflicts between certain groups of population over access to natural resources, intercommunity clashes, the spread of Islamic and Christian terrorism, electoral conflicts and the continuing activity of pirates in the Gulfs of Aden and Guinea. As the European Union, China and the African countries represented by the African Union expand their influence on the processes taking place in the world, they also begin to make an increasing contribution to the establishment of a new multi-polar world and to the growth of the global economy. This trend is of particular importance in relation to Africa, which until recently was considered solely as a continent that permanently experiences developmental backwardness and political instability. So far, EU member states have been the main trade, economic and political partners of African countries, as well as contributors to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. However, China’s accent to the status of a global power and its desire to strengthen its global influence prompts Beijing to become increasingly involved in solving security problems of the African continent. In addition, China’s cooperation with African countries, previously described as “decisive non-interference in the internal affairs of partner countries while safeguarding China’s economic interests”, is undergoing a gradual shift towards Bei-jing’s involvement in peacekeeping operations in Africa. While the agreements signed by the People's Republic of China with African countries remain predominantly economic, the growing dependence of China in the implementation of its trade and economic interests on the vicissitudes of African politics and, simultaneously, on the pressure of the world community encourages Beijing to increase its activity on a global scale and leads to a revision of Chinese approaches to cooperation with this or that particular region. The participation of European countries in peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the UN has significantly decreased since the mid-1990s. Against this background, the role of developing countries, including China, in ensuring security on the African continent has increased. The expansion of security cooperation in the EU-China-Africa format is largely a European initiative. Although the extent of trilateral cooperation is still limited, primarily due to a certain discrepancy in China and the EU's approach to events in Africa, it is nevertheless gradually being established as part of peacekeeping operations, as well as the fight against piracy and terrorism. © 2019

УГАНДА: ОТ ДВИЖЕНИЯ СВЯТОГО ДУХА К АРМИИ СОПРОТИВЛЕНИЯ ГОСПОДА (К ВОПРОСУ О ХРИСТИАНСКОМ ТЕРРОРИЗМЕ В АФРИКЕ)

Islamic terrorism has become a part of everyday life. Countless books and dissertations attempt to analyze the activities of Islamic terrorists. On the contrary, Christian terrorist groups operating in countries and regions all around the world receive much less attention, although they are no less dangerous. In the authors' view, "Christian terrorism" can be defined as extremist activities characterized by a high level of violence, which, according to terrorists, is necessary for achieving the religious or, rather, pseudo-religious goals of "purifying" the faith itself and its adherents from all sorts of "filth", of fighting "evil", and of building the "Kingdom of God"-a society of "general prosperity". The article examines the causes, preconditions for the emergence, and activities of the Lord's Resistance Army, analyzes the religious views of its leader Joseph Kony, as well as external and internal factors that have influenced the tactics and strategy of the organization. It also assesses the religious nature of the movement and forecasts the spread of Christian extremism on the African continent.Исламскому терроризму, ставшему в последнее время повседневной реальностью, ежедневно посвящаются статьи и репортажи, о деятельности исламских террористов пишутся книги и диссертации. Христианским же террористическим группам, действующим во многих странах и регионах мира, уделяется значительно меньше внимания, хотя они не менее опасны. Под “христианским терроризмом” авторы понимают экстремистскую деятельность, отличающуюся высоким уровнем насилия, “необходимость” осуществления которого террористы объясняют религиозными или, скорее, псевдорелигиозными целями “очищения” самой веры и ее приверженцев от всяческой “скверны”, борьбы со “злом” и выстраивания в “отдельно взятой” местности/стране “Царства Божия”. В статье рассматриваются причины, предпосылки возникновения и деятельность христианской террористической организации Армия сопротивления Господа, анализируются религиозные взгляды ее лидера Джозефа Кони, а также внешние и внутренние факторы, повлиявшие на тактику и стратегию группировки. Даются оценка религиозной сущности движения и прогноз распространения христианского экстремизма на Африканском континенте