Karla Castillo, Eli Groener, Brittany Hill, and Scott Maxwell 

Across the continent, from Liberia to Burundi to South Africa, African societies are overwhelmed by the scourge of armed violence. Tragically, the number of people affected by this phenomenon has continually risen over the past decade. In fact, from 1990 to 2005, a staggering 23 states in Africa experienced armed conflict.[1] The utter devastation resulting from armed violence is not limited to state-to-state conflict, however. According to the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, armed violence is the “intentional use of illegitimate force (actual or threatened) with arms or explosives against a person, group, community, or state, which undermines people-centered security and/or sustainable development.”[2] This inclusive definition takes a number of forms in Africa, including large-scale terrorist attacks in the Maghreb, post-election violence in Cote d’Ivoire, religious-based conflict in northern Nigeria, gender-based violence in eastern Congo, piracy along the coast of Somalia, and violent crime in South Africa.

The consequences of armed violence are substantial and many. On a societal level, armed violence impedes development, hinders peace-building efforts, destroys public-health and educational systems and leads to massive population displacement.  States spend over 64 billion USD each year financing war and conflict, while the annual cost of armed violence in non-conflict states is roughly 165 billion USD.[3] On a personal level, armed violence devastates individuals, families, and communities, leaving scars, both physical and psychological, that remain long after conflict has ended. Confronting these human and development costs is a critical challenge for the stability of Africa today and in the future.

Benefiting from research conducted in the cities of Monrovia, Pretoria, Bujumbura and Washington D.C. over a six-month period, the chapters in this volume seek to explore the causes and effects of armed violence in Africa and evaluate the programs and policies developed to prevent its further propagation. Chapters 3, 4 and 5 are based on surveys and interviews conducted in the field. The personal and professional friendships cultivated over the course of this research, both with the victims and perpetrators of armed violence, add color and personality to the chapters in this volume. Chapter 6 takes a broader approach, assessing the effectiveness of Human Rights Watch’s “Name and Shame” campaign in preventing arms proliferation in Africa. While the sub-topics examined in this volume are diverse and varied, they all converge on one particular theme – the human dimensions of armed violence in Africa. This volume is based on original research, conducted by a group of graduate students from the Monterey Institute with diverse and international skill-sets. It is believed that these chapters will give the reader significant insight into the numerous security challenges faced by African states today.

In Chapter 3, Eli Groener explores the relationship between armed violence and population displacement in the Great Lakes Region. Based on interviews conducted in Congolese refugee camps in Northeastern Burundi, Eli’s research explores the causes of displacement in eastern Congo, precisely South Kivu, and the impact of these refugees on Burundi’s security environment. Through a survey of ex-combatants, Brittany Hill assesses the effectiveness of reintegration efforts following Liberia’s bloody civil-war in Chapter 4. Her research evaluates whether the rank of ex-combatants affects their chances of successfully reintegrating into Liberian society after the war. This question is particularly pertinent today given recent reports of former Liberian combatants crossing the border to fight in Cote d’Ivoire. In Chapter 5, Scott Maxwell examines the problem of violent crime in South Africa – one of Africa’s most stable and prosperous countries. Using a variety of research methods, including household surveys in two Pretoria neighborhoods,  his study seeks to satisfy three objectives: (i) to assess how rates of burglary at residential and non-residential premises, as well as rates of robbery at residential and non-residential premises have contributed to an increase in private security; (ii) to determine how private security companies work to reduce crime; and (iii) to measure people’s perceptions of safety in regards to their use of private security services. In Chapter 6, Karla Castillo evaluates the success of Human Rights Watch in their efforts to limit the transfer of SAWL’s to known violators of human rights in Africa, specifically African regimes and paramilitary groups. Scott Maxwell concludes this volume in Chapter 7 with an analysis of armed violence and its relationship with good governance, economic transformation and human capital development across the continent.

Given the sheer size and diversity of the African continent, many question the utility of studying armed violence (an already broad phenomenon) across such a vast surface. This volume argues that in order to properly understand the plague of armed violence in Africa, an understanding of the continent’s shared history, culture and identity is vital. Scott Maxwell further explores this topic is in Chapter 2.